The Shinobi Knight
by titus123
Summary: Naruto wakes up after fighting in the Final Valley with Sasuke. The only thing is... he doesn't know how to get home. Watch as Naruto develops his shinobi skills along with some others to find his way back home. Pairing... Most likely Harem. Honestly, don't like don't read.
1. The Shinobi Knight

**So I have to say that I am sorry to those who thought I was going to update one of my other stories. I just couldn't get this beginning out of my head. I have to say that most of my inspiration though comes from another author who wrote Demon's Curse. In case you guys haven't read it yet, go to it. It really should be one of those stories that have over 1+ k on their reviews, but for some reason doesn't. Letting people know, I already spoke with the author and he gave me the go ahead on using some of his ideas, so please don't tell me this story seems a kinda familiar to you guys. So here we go with this story. Hope you guys like the beginning. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Fairy Tail. Though it would be awesome if I did.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Shinobi Knight**

* * *

Slowly opening his eyes, a groan came from his body and he tried to acclimate himself to see what the hell was going on. _'Uggg… What happened?' _He thought as his vision began to become clearer. He was on a soft bed in a simple room. This certainly wasn't his own room back in the village. Trying to remember what happened he tried to sit up only to find himself wincing at the pain that coursed throughout his body. Looking down he saw that his entire body was wrapped in bandages. _'What is this? What happened to me?'_ He looked around again, _'This isn't the hospital in Konoha…. Where am I?'_ He put his head back on the pillow and just stared up at the ceiling.

_'There was…. What was going on?'_ He thought, closing his eyes as he wracked his brain trying to remember. _'I was going after Sasuke…. SASUKE!'_ He shot up out of the bed before letting out a sharp hiss grabbing his body to dull the pain. _'Shit! I need to get outta here and make sure that Sasuke didn't go to Orochimaru!' _

With that, he grit his teeth and started to move his body forward, forcing himself through the pain that seared through his veins. He finally was able to sit up and he threw his legs over the side of the bed allowing his legs to dangle for a moment. He held his head as the vertigo began to kick in. He took deep breaths and tried to calm down as he analyzed the room which he was in. It was a simple room. One bed, one dresser, a desk, chair, and a mirror in the corner. He looked in the mirror and saw his blonde-haired blue eyed self…. Well blue eye, half of his face was wrapped in bandages…. Hell, the rest of his body looked like a mummy. Whisker-like marks popped out of his bandages as he continued to stare at himself. The only other thing that he had on was what was left of his shredded orange pants.

Looking over to the chair, he saw lying on the wooden seat was his headband as well as a single bloodied kunai. His torn up orange jacket was also draped across the frame. Taking a deep breath he tightened his muscles and hoisted himself up onto his feet only to hear the sound of the doorknob turning as the door opened. Distracted he turned his head towards the door, before realizing as gravity pushed his full weight back onto his body to his already weak legs, he fell like a rock.

"WAHH-! Pmff!" he cried out at he hit the ground. The woman that had just walked in the door blinked at the spectacle that lay in front of her before realizing what had happened.

"What are you doing?!" She cried out rushing to the downed boy. "Dear!' She called out behind her, "He's awake!" She turned back to the boy, "You've been in a coma for three weeks. What were you thinking trying to get up and walk around like nothings wrong?!" She asked sternly. The blonde looked up at the woman. She looked to be in her early thirties or so. She had brown hair that was done up in a simple bun. A simple violet dress adorned her body with different shades of purple lining the fabric. Her brown eyes showed warmth, but at the same time, a sense of order, like she would take no part in misconduct. Her skin was pale, but he could tell that she had been in the sun a lot from the amount of freckles that were on her face. The blondes face then shrank into a look of horror as he process what the woman had said.

"THREE WEE-! **_'COUGH! COUGH!'_**_"_ He started coughing violently as he used his vocal chords for the first time in awhile. The woman in front of him just quickly got a glass of water of water, propped him up against her side and gently pressed the glass to his lips. The blonde greedily gulped down the liquid before receiving a small scolding.

"Slowly!" chided the woman firmly but kindly as she continued to help him drink the water. The boy nodded his head slightly as he tried to drink the delicious substance with less vigor. Taking a deep breath and sighing he slightly slumped back into the woman's arm that was supporting his back before looking up at her.

"Where am I?" He asked. Just then, the he saw another person enter the room. The blonde looked in awe at the man who was now standing in front of him. He was about 6'4", black hair that was clean cut. He had a crisp and clean goatee on his tanned complexion. But the thing that stood out the most, was what the man was wearing. Large plates of metal adorned his body with intricate lines having been carved into the metal. His chest was covered with the metal, but on his sides, looked to be as though red leather had been placed there for motility. More plates of armor could be found covering his arms, with metal gauntlets covering his hands. The armor extended down and covered the rest of his entire body. The blonde also saw a huge broadsword that was strapped to the man's back along with a smaller dagger on the other side. A leather belt was strapped across his chest, holding a large blue shield in place that had a picture of some type of winged animal on it. The blonde tensed slightly at the mere presence of the man. The woman holding him noticed and saw the attire that the man was in.

"Dear." She said sharply, "How many times have I told you to not wear your armor in the house." She gave a small glare at the man. The man's face changed from a serious look to an amused one.

"Too many." He chuckled before he looked at the blonde in her arms. "Well, look who decided to wake up. We were really worried about you there for awhile." The man said as he knelt down to the boys ' eye level. His voice was deep, but warm at the sound of it. It was a voice that held authority. "How are you feeling?" He asked with genuine concern in his eyes. The blonde looked at the man with some surprise. Not too many people were concerned with him. It was odd to see a stranger have a genuine concern over him. The blonde tried to sit up a little higher, wincing again at the pain that coursed through his body.

"Like my body was just pierced with a thousand blades." He said with a small smile. The man in armor stared blankly at the boy for a moment before letting out a booming laugh.

"HAHAHA!" He laughed full heartedly, "Well there's one thing you got boy, it's guts." He said getting the boy to smile a little more. Taking off one of his gauntlets, he extended his hand at the boy. "I am the Baron of Griffon's Cove, Duncan Numair. Also Knight-Commander of the Royal Guard for the King of Fiore. It's a pleasure to meet you." He smiled when he saw the boy raise his hand and grip his with a firm grip. Duncan felt many calluses on the boys' hand, but that could wait until later. Looking over to the woman who was holding him, "This is my wife Maria, she's the one who found you washed up on the shores outside of the castle. She saved your life." He said. The blonds eyes widened at his neck snapped to the woman who was holding him. She blushed slightly at the praise her husband gave her and just smiled at the boy.

"Thank you." The blonde muttered to Maria quietly, not sure about what he was feeling. He was grateful to the woman for saving his life, but how did he end up at the shores of a castle? He pondered his situation….. Things were just not adding up.

"I'm just happy that you managed to survive." She said warmly, "You had so many terrible wounds on you, I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to save you. Thank goodness that mage was passing by and was able to conjure up some potions and healing salves." The boy cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"Mage?" He questioned the word. Duncan nodded his head.

"Aye, it was a blessing from the gods indeed that she was passing by. Which leads me to ask, how did you end up on our shores anyways?" He said seriously causing the boy to gulp a little. A thousand thoughts raced through the mind of the young blonde as he thought furiously what he could tell the man.

_'Let's see. Think! Think!' _He thought furiously. _'I'm no longer in Konoha, if even in the Elemental Nations. I've never seen armor like what he is wearing, or ever heard of mages.'_ He wasn't sure what he should tell them. He was in a foreign land, unsure if these people were enemies to the Elemental Nations. The boy knew he wasn't the sharpest kunai in the ninja pouch, but he didn't want to give any important secrets to complete strangers. For all he knew, these people were with the Akatsuki.

Duncan sighed, taking the blondes hesitation as a sign that his earlier deductions were correct. "Are you an escaped slave boy?" He asked seriously getting the blonde to look up in shock at the man. This further convinced the man that his assumptions were correct. "Even before you received those wounds, there were scars littering across your body that only those from either torture or slavery comes from." He explained. "The calluses on your hand shows of hard labor as well meaning that you were probably a slave at some point." The boy looked down as if to confirm the General-Commanders assumption.

The boy lowered his head, not to confirm what the general had said though, but for the shame that someone had actually seen the marks from his past. They were not something that he was very proud of. The village that he had come to grow and love, had marked the boy at a very young age in his life. Not to mention the now gapping scar that was positioned above his heart.

"Boy…" The man said gently, causing the blonde to look up at him into his caring eyes. "You have nothing to fear. We aren't going to be sending you back to them, whoever they may be. Slavery is illegal in Fiore, you're safe now." He finished as the blonde slowly nodded his head.

_'That… could work…. For now anyways.'_ The blonde thought as the woman to his left embraced the blonde a little more to try and comfort him.

"You poor boy…." She cooed softly, tears in her eyes, "And so young." The boy still trying to think about his current situation didn't say anything as he watched the larger man stand up and pick up his bloodied kunai and looked at it again.

"This blade…" He said, "This type of blade would normally be used for assassinations. Easy to conceal, quick to used, lightweight and small." The blondes' eyes widened at the analytic skill of the man. "…. I suppose slavers might use a weapon as such, especially if they were being kept from the public eye. Which means that they could be here in Fiore" He muttered to himself. Looking back at the boy he asked, "Do you know where the slavers that were holding you are?" The blonde merely shook his head in response causing the man to sigh. "How did you manage to escape from them?" He asked again.

"I-I-I took that blade from a guard when he wasn't looking." The blonde responded slowly. "That night, I used it to unlock my shackles and cell." He paused again as if he were remembering that night. "I…. tried going to the docks where the boats were, but someone saw me and tried to sound the alarm." The blonde gulped trying to make his act convincing.

"Did you kill the guard with this?" Duncan asked. The blonde said nothing but looked down at the floor. "Son. It's alright. No one is going to hurt you or judge you here." The boy slowly looked up and nodded slightly.

"A-a-after that, I got to the docks and got a small boat and started to go away from the place…. But I got lost out at sea…. I was out for a long time…. I-I-I remember a spinning around in the water, the boat going in circles until it was like the water swallowed me up…" The blonde took another pause.

"A whirlpool?" Muttered Duncan.

"I couldn't breath for awhile…. Then something hit my head hard….. Then I woke up here, not really able to move." He finished as Duncan listened closely to his story.

"Damn." He muttered, "That means that the slavers could be from other nations. Meaning they're untouchable." Silently thinking about the options. "Boy, I swear on my honor as a Knight to the King of Fiore, that if those slavers are anywhere within the nation, I will find them and I will bring them to justice." The man said with such conviction, it surprised the blonde.

"Don't worry." Maria said, "My husband will make sure that everything turns out right." She said with a smile to the boy. The blonde simply looked down.

"Thank you…" He muttered quietly, saddened at the fact that he had inadvertently lied to this nice couple. _'This is for the sake of the village…' _He thought. The woman just smiled again at the boy.

"It's no problem." She said, "I'm sure your parents are worried sick that you're gone." She looked expectantly at the boy in her arms before frowning, not getting the reaction she was hoping out of the boy.

"Don't have any…" Were the words that she heard him mumbled. Chiding herself for her insensitivity, she beckoned her husband over to her to help the blonde get back into bed.

"You're still recovering from everything." She said warmly, "Here, into the bed with you until your better." Her and her husband both gently laid him on the mattress. "I'll come in later with some warm soup for you, I'm sure that you're just starving after not eating for so long." She smiled, her husband nodding his head next to her.

"What is your name boy?" He finally asked as he watched the blonde already drifting into unconsciousness.

"Naruto….Uzumaki….zzzzz." He slurred. The Commander-General smiled at the boy as he wrapped an arm around his wife.

"Welcome then Naruto Uzumaki." He said, "To Griffon's Cove."

* * *

The next few days were some of the most peaceful days that Naruto could ever say that he could remember. He found out that he was in a quiet little village just due east to the enormous castle that lay near the ocean. Maria had fussed over the blonde like a mother hen with her chicks about every little thing. Naruto took it with stride though, it was nice, to feel that someone genuinely cared for him.

The Knight-Commander had also brought out some maps for Naruto to look at to see if he could ascertain any of the geographical landmarks to where his 'supposed' slavers had kept him. Naruto was shock at the map. Every single land formation was off. He was no where near the Elemental Nations. In fact, it seems as if somehow he traveled to opposite ends of the world. He looked at the oceans. _'In the Elemental Nations, the ocean was due east. Here in Fiore, the ocean is due west.'_ He thought wondering how he could have gotten from his home to this strange land. "Duncan…" He said, "What's beyond the ocean here?" He asked pointing to the ocean that lay to the west. Duncan looked down at the map.

"No one really knows." He replied. "Those waters are treacherous and with the state of the economy here in Fiore, no one has the resources nor manpower to set out on any type of expedition." Naruto stared intently at the map thinking about what the man had said.

_'So it is possible…'_ He thought….. But how was he going to be able to make a voyage like that? He knew nothing of navigation or marine life. Naruto sat down and thought about how he could return to his home. Duncan on the side looked at him, analyzing him.

_'Is it possible that he came from across the sea's?' _The Knight-Commander thought, '_It would make sense, everything culturally that he does doesn't match up to customs here…. And he's never seen mages. When he saw that mage performer in the street, it was like the first time he had ever seen magic before….'_ The man furrowed his brow, _'But that doesn't make sense. Magic surrounds all of Earthland. Even if he was from across the ocean, their should have been people who could do perform such feats.'_ His thoughts were interrupted by his wife coming into the room.

"Naruto-chan!" She said smiling, "Would you be a dear and help me with the grocery shopping?" She asked. Naruto just smiled at the woman before looking up at the Knight-commander who softly chuckled.

"Go on and get." He said while waving his hand to shoo him away, "I suppose we can't learn anything if you don't even recognize where you are. I need to get some things done at the castle anyways." Naruto nodded excitingly and followed his wife out of the house into the town's marketplace. Duncan laughed to himself wondering about how that little blonde enigma had so much energy. He sighed slightly, thinking about the look that his wife had given the blonde. Oh, he knew that look well. Years and years, both Duncan and his wife tried to have children, but it seemed like they were never meant to sire a child. Duncan knew that look on his wife's face. It was one of longing. Longing for the chance to be a mother. But a Duncan could tell… Naruto was meant to be a free spirit. Though polite with them, he could tell the boy was rearing to get out of the town and go and see the world.

He chuckled at the thought. There had been a time when he had acted the exact same way. Thinking more about the blonde boy, he got another idea. _'Maria may not like it…. But it would keep him close to home for awhile, while letting him journey across the land.'_ He thought as he donned on his armor and started riding his horse to the castle to make plans for the boy.

* * *

"Maria-chaaaaaaaan!" Droned a bored Naruto as he held many bags in his arms. "Are we done yet?" He desperately asked. Happy to get out of the house, shopping still had to be one of his least favorite things to do.

"Oh hush you." Chided the woman playfully slapping the blonde. She went back to checking over her list while every once in awhile glanced at the little blonde ball of sunshine. She couldn't help it. She had already felt a connection with the boy and wanted to do anything to take care of him. He had a tough life, and her motherly instincts were to smother the boy with as much affection as possible. The boy's never even had a mother! When she learned of that, it literally tore her heart. She would still have to talk with her husband, but she wanted Naruto to stay with them, live with them…. Be a real family. She almost got misty eyed just at the thought of being able to help raise the boy. True, he was already almost 13, but she would treat him like the child that she never had. She smiled warmly as some of the local village girls waved shyly to him. She giggled when the whiskered boy had no clue what was going on, but waved back smiling regardless. Honestly, she hadn't felt this kind of happiness for a long time.

"Come on Naruto-chan!" She called out getting the boys' attention. "We still have much to get done." She giggled again as the blonde groaned out his response as he followed her down the road.

* * *

"Oi! Maria-chan is so mean!" Cried out Naruto as anime tears rolled down his face. Maria giggled as they entered the house with her bags of supplies.

"No that's not it." She laughed, "Naruto-chan is just sensitive that's all." She said pinching one of his cheeks. Naruto then saw Duncan as the table looking over some documents.

"Duncan!" He whined out getting his attention. "Do something about her. She's picking on me!" He cried out pointing to the culprit who was just smiling innocently. Duncan looked at the scene for a second before he laughed out loud.

"Sorry Naruto." He laughed, "But you're on your own for this one." He watched as his wife grinned as the blonde let out an indignant yell of prejudice against minors or something like that. The three then set out to put away the groceries and started making dinner together. The entire time laughing at the antics of the young blonde boy brought into the home.

Grinning widely as he made some grandiose pose claiming that he was the most fiercest of warriors throughout the land and how they should be honored to bask in his great presence, he thought, _'I wonder if this is what having parents would feel like.'_ Before feeling a light bop hit his nose as he noticed that Maria had tossed a roll at his face. He then registered what happened in his mind before getting a mischievous grin on his face.

Seeing this Maria started speaking nervously, "Now now Naruto-chan. Let's not get- oooofff!" She ended as she got a face full of mashed potatoes in her face. Duncan looked at his wife and started laughing hysterically at the sight, only for himself to get some mashed potatoes to the face.

"That's it!" He said as he stood up from the table, "I am the Knight-Commander of the Royal Guard and I demand some respe- oooffff!" As more food hit his face.

"Respect is earned." Naruto said while sticking his pinky in his ear searching for gold. "You want respect? Then take out your pie and en guard! Right Maria-chan?" He asked as he got more food ready. She just grinned wickedly as they both attacked the man who was now sputtering food.

For the next hour the three had a full on war of who would get hit the most from the food. They laughed as they all wrestled around the room, multiple times Duncan would pinned Naruto on the ground as Maria would tickle the heck out of him. It was honestly the most fun that the three of them could say that they have had in a long time.

* * *

After the free-for-all food fight, the three got cleaned up and tidied up the kitchen, Maria making sure both of the boys scrubbed every inch of her floor. When they were all settled down they went to the living room to relax.

"Naruto." Duncan said getting his attention. "I spoke with the recruiters for the Royal Guard today at the castle and they said that if you're interested, that they would be willing to take a look at you to see if you could become a Royal Guardsman to the King." Naruto looked up at the man in surprise, while his wife just gasped grabbing said boy and start to squeeze the heck out of him.

"No!" She cried out, "He's much to young for that sort of thing! It's too dangerous!" Fearful that her time with the boy would soon come to an end. She desperately grabbed on to anything that she could to keep the bright bundle of joy around. Said boy was starting to turn a rather nasty shade of blue by the way.

"Maria," Duncan said, "He is still a little young for the Guards, but that's why I would be training the boy personally for the next year or so to make sure that he acquires the skills needed to be in the Guard." He turned a to look at the boy, who was still trying to breathe, "Maria! You're going to kill Naruto even before he has chance to decide!" He cried out while pointing at the boy, She looked down and gasped when she saw the lifeless blonde in her arms with part of his soul hanging out of his mouth.

"Oh Naruto-chan I'm so sorry!' She said as she quickly dropped the boy who fell straight on his face. Duncan sighed as he turned back to his wife.

"Look at him Maria. He's the kind of boy who needs adventure in his life. With this, he can journey across the land while doing good for the people of our nation." Maria's eyes started to water a little at what her husband was saying. It was true though, she could tell Naruto wouldn't be able to stay in anyplace too long. She had just been trying to deny that fact though. "Naruto, what do you say?" Duncan asked the boy who had just recovered from his near death experience. "The Guard will teach you many survival skills needed in the world as well as allow you to travel and explore different lands as well. Would you be interested?" He asked the boy as Naruto started thinking about what the man was offering.

_'I'm in an unfamiliar land.'_ He thought, _'It would help to understand how this land works, as well as maybe find a way back to Konoha.'_ He then looked up at Duncan, _'He definitely looks strong, I could benefit from his training and see how people fight here._' Making up his mind thinking it was the best decision he looked up at Duncan, grinned and nodded his head. Duncan nodded his head as well in approval.

"Very well then." He said, "Then tomorrow morning, we will start on basic survival skills. Be prepared though Naruto for a brutal training regimen." He stood up. "I will make sure that you are the best damn Guardsman that this world has to offer." This only caused Naruto to grin as he too stood up.

"Bring it on old man!" He shouted out causing the man to gain a tick mark on his head as his wife just giggled.

* * *

The next morning, Duncan came into Naruto's room at 4:30 am to get him up. Unfortunately for the blonde, he was a pretty heavy sleeper, but soon became wide awake when he found himself being drowning in a freezing pond. After that the boy sluggishly followed Duncan for their first survival training exercise.

"You should have seen him honey." He said to his wife while excitingly explaining their first day together. "He was a natural when it came to almost everything. He's a little rusty on what types of plants and fungus are safe, but other than that, man. This kid's gonna go far." Maria just smiled at the fact that Duncan was so proud of the boy and his progress. "He caught onto tracking and hunting very fast, and his stealth to sneak up behind prey is astounding. I couldn't have done a better job myself!" He exclaimed, "It's almost like he was…. Trained….." He paused causing his wife to look at him in mild concern.

"What is it?" She asked gently.

Thoughts were pouring into Duncan's head rapidly. _'Everything that we did today….. It's like he was meant to not be seen.'_ He started to remember little bits of events that were occurring throughout the day.

* * *

**_Flashback no Justu:_**

_Naruto was now standing across an open area of land with a wooden sword in his hand. It wasn't any type of sword that Naruto had seen before, well at least before he had met Duncan at least. It was a double-edge wooden sword that had a rather cumbersome hilt on his. He tried to think about how he would be able to use the sword like he normally handled bladed weapons. He held the sword out in a reverse grip, trying to accommodate the weight of the sword. In his other hand was a round wooden shield that Naruto wondered why he would need to have. If he was fast enough, there wouldn't need to be a reason to have it….. right?_

_Duncan noticed the way the boy was holding the sword. __**'I guess he picked that up watching the slavers.'**__ He would soon need to correct that though. He nodded to the boy as a signal for him to begin. Naruto charged at the man, surprising him momentarily at the boys' speed. __**'He's fast!'**__ He thought as he dodged the clumsy swing of the blade causing the young boy to expose his back to the man. Duncan sighed as he went to knock the boy down with a kick, __**'Looks like we have a long way to go.'**__ But just as he was about to make contact, the boy jumped to the side rolling out of the way, but twisting his arm. Duncan's eyes widened, __**'Where did that come from?' **__ He thought at he saw the boy grab the wrist that was holding his shield in pain. _

_The boy momentarily cursed the shield for being cumbersome, before getting an idea. He took some string that was in his pouch and tied the shield around him so that it was on his back. Grinning widely, he gripped the sword again and charged at the man. Once again the man dodged and let out a strike at the boys back, only for it to be countered by his shield. Naruto grinned as he saw a small hint of pride run through the man's eyes. _

_Duncan's eyes were analyzing the boy with every move that he made. __**'He's trying to dodge most of my attacks. He doesn't bother to counter or parry, he looks for weaknesses within the opponent. He knows a little how to handle a blade, but not large blades, the weight of the wooden sword is starting to affect the way he holds it.' **__He thought as he started thrusting his sword out at the boy. __**'A lot of wasted movement, but he moves just like an assassin…. Guess I'll just have to show him that speed isn't everything, especially if you run up against a faster and stronger opponent.' **__In all honesty, Duncan wasn't expecting the boy to know how to fight at all. He dodged another clumsy swing for the boy to expose his back again. Duncan noticed his right leg tense and Duncan blurred out of sight only for Naruto to run smack dab into the man. Duncan grabbed the boy roughly and lifted him to eye level with his wooden blade against the boys neck. _

_"I win gaki." He smiled as he tossed the boy on the ground. The boy huffed in annoyance at the man. _

_"I almost got you." He whined. The man laughed as he shook his head. _

_"There's still a huge difference in almost and actually winning Naruto." He said getting another huff of annoyance from the boy._

_"How did you even get me?" He asked. Duncan just raised his eyebrow_

_"You're fast kid, but you ain't that fast." He said, "Remember, there will always be someone out there who is stronger and faster than you." Naruto thought about it and nodded his head as he accepted the hand that Duncan was offering him._

_"Now," Duncan started, "I like what you have done with your shield." Naruto grinned, "But, we need to have it be more accessible to you during a fight. As of right now, you would have trouble taking it off without cutting through the string correct?" He asked. Naruto looked at the string, then struggled for a little bit trying to get the shield off only to get himself tangled in the string causing the Knight-Commander to laugh. _

_"Grrrr… Why do I even need to use this thing? It just gets in the way!" He growled out as he finally got the blasted shield off. Duncan sighed. _

_"Naruto, your shield is probably one of your most important weapons you carry on you." He said, "If you need to make a choice between your blade and your shield, take up your shield. It can protect you when you most need it." Naruto looked up at the man as if he were crazy._

_"That doesn't make any sense!" He yelled, "You can stab anything with a shield, so how are you going to win?" He asked as Duncan took off his shield from his back and held it in his hand, dropping his wooden sword to the ground. _

_"Come at me then." He said, "I will use nothing but my shield to defend and you will see." Naruto shrugged his shoulders and took his stance once again. Hey if the old man wanted to see who could last longer, his attacks or the old mans defense, he was sure he could win. Naruto charged in quickly trying to make his way around the mans shield. Duncan though was too quick and Naruto was about to have his wooden blade hit the shield when all of a sudden the shield shot forward ramming into Naruto's entire body. _

_Naruto saw stars as he flew back and hit the ground wheezing. The wind was knocked out of him and he was having trouble breathing. Coughing his way back up he heard Duncan walk beside him. _

_"Remember Naruto," He started, "Your shield can be a protector or a destroyer as well." With that he hurled his shield at the nearest tree. A large crack resonated throughout the forest as Naruto watched the shield embed itself into the tree._

**_'Holy shit!' _**_He thought still trying to inhale oxygen, __**'That could've taken off someone head!'**__ He looked back up at the Knight-Commander._

_"Come on and get up gaki." He said as he hoisted the boy back up to his feet. "I'll teach you how a true Knight wields a sword." He finished with a grin. The rest of the day, the Knight-Commander and Naruto worked on his swordsmanship and the importance of using a great defense as an offense._

* * *

**End Flashback no Jutsu:**

Duncan thought about the different events that occurred throughout the day. _'The way he held the sword, he only considers an opponent down if you stab them.'_ He thought. He had also noticed that Naruto's accuracy, while not precise, was pretty damn good considering he was supposed to have been a slave. When they practice archery, it took him a few times, but then he was nearly getting every shot within the red circle in the center. Not quite the bullseye, but damn close.

"Honey? Are you alright?" Asked now a worried Maria seeing her husband zone out the way that he did. At that same time, Naruto also walked into the room coming from his shower.

"What's wrong with Jiji?" He asked getting both of their attention. Duncan sighed, maybe it wasn't important for right now. He could worry about that later.

"I'll tell you what's wrong with me." He let out a fake growl, "The fact that I have a blonde gaki calling me an old man when I'm just hitting my prime!" With that he jumped at the blonde putting him in a headlock and started to give him the noogie of his life. The blonde struggled desperately.

"AHHHHH!" He cried out flapping his arms while biting the mans arm. "I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! MARIA-CHAAAAN! DON'T JUST STAND THERE LAUGHING! HE'S GONNA KILL ME IF YOU DON'T DO SOMETHING!" Maria just stood off to the side her hand over her mouth as she watched the boy struggle valiantly over the deadly noogie.

She let out a warm sigh. _'Oh Naruto.'_ She thought, _'I pray that you decide to stay here with us.'_ She smiled at the thought.

* * *

The next four months went by quickly for everyone. Naruto found that he had learned a lot from Duncan about surviving in the wilderness. True, he had ninja training to do so, but this mainly honed his mediocre skills in the field. After all, he didn't really have the best teachers growing up.

Duncan taught him many different forms of wielding different weapons. Whether they were with a broadsword to a simple lance. Archery was getting to be a favorite of Naruto's. It made up for a long distance attack that he really never had before, well besides just spamming clones out left and right. But he didn't want the people here to think that he had any special abilities. He wasn't quite sure what would happen if he did, but it seems like none of the soldiers that Duncan talked about had any sort of these abilities, only mages. It wasn't that he didn't trust them….. He just wanted to be treated normally though…... Like a regular person.

Though he was training to become a Knight and in the end that was his main goal before he headed back home, he was a Konoha Shinobi through and through. On his shredded jacket was a seal where he had kept scrolls of just notes of either the different jutsu that he knew or of others that he thought sounded pretty badass… The problem was that he had no way of knowing how to recreate those jutsu…. He mumbled something about prejudices against him just because he was an aspiring Shinobi in the making or something like that. But now, Naruto really had to sit down and think, what else was there that he could do to further develop his Shinobi skills. He had learned various skills from other ninja from after the invasion of the leaf by the Sand and Sound villages. Naruto shrugged his shoulders as he decided to try and perfect those things that were taught to him. He quickly unsealed a tanto that was given as a gift of gratitude to him by the eternal genin. He smiled slightly as he looked at the blade with fondness. Determination then flooded his eyes as he got in the basic stances that the man had instructed him in.

Late at night, when both Duncan and Maria went to bed, Naruto would sneak out of the house and train in the shinobi arts. His training in the Shinobi Arts soared and he grew stronger than ever before. Especially with the training that he was receiving from Duncan. He wasn't sure about it, but he thought that if Duncan were ever serious with him, shinobi or not, Duncan could beat the living hell out of him. There were just times, like when he thought Naruto was getting a big head, would all of a sudden pull out a new maneuver out of nowhere on Naruto to humble said boy.

* * *

**That Evening:**

Maria was pacing around the room frantically telling herself to calm down over and over again. Her husband just watched her with his eyes move from one side of the room, to the next.

"Maria," He started, "Please try to calm down." He said calmly.

"But what if he doesn't accept?!" She cried out, "What if he wants to leave us?!" Tears started to pour out of her eyes as she sank to the ground. "I-I-I don't know if I could take it." She said as her husband came to her side silently rubbing her back.

"Well we won't know unless we ask will we?" He said in a gentle voice, only to get a muffled reply back from the woman who was clinging onto her husband. Naruto had changed her life significantly. She had never loved a child so much as this one. She already considered him her son. If he didn't feel the same way, her heart would be crushed. She had prayed and prayed over and over again that he would accept their love. But now, she just didn't know what the blonde wanted.

"Maria-chan?" Came a new voice. Both looked up at the blonde in the doorway. "What's wrong with Maria-chan Jiji?" He asked with concern in his voice as he too came up to the couple on the ground.

Embarrassed Maria quickly started whipping her tears away trying to put on a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Nothing Naruto-chan." She said trying to dismiss the boy. Naruto just narrowed his eyes.

"Jiji…." He said, " What's going on? Why is Maria-chan crying?" He asked the man. Duncan looked at the boy in front of him and sighed. He stood up and started to roll up his sleeve until Naruto saw a black tattoo that was on his shoulder. It was the same symbol that was on Duncan's shield as well

"Do you know what the significance of this symbol is Naruto?" He asked seriously. Naruto just looked at the tattoo and shook his head. "Griffons are powerful noble creatures. They are loyal to the death and will protect you with their life if they have your trust. They are also the most trustworthy magical creature throughout the land. In the midst of their presence, no one can tell a lie. It is impossible. That is why we Numair's, all bear the mark of the Griffon. Honesty, loyalty, and power…." Naruto listened to the man intently, caught in every moment of what he was saying. "Only those of the Silverback family are allowed to wear this emblem on their body. It's a commitment that you will protect that, which is precious to you. My father gave me this mark when I was your age Naruto. That day, I truly became a part of my family." He looked down at Naruto. "Naruto… I would be honored if you too bore the mark of this crest on you body as well." Naruto eye's widened significantly.

"Y-y-you mean that?..." Duncan nodded his head.

"That's right." He said, "Maria and I would be honored if you truly became a part of our family…. And be our son." Naruto looked at the couple dumbfounded. Never in a million years would he have thought another family would want to have him. This was something that he had always wanted, ever since he was at the orphanage….. But wait… What about his promises that he had already made… Becoming Hokage….. Rescuing Sasuke… What about those things. He looked back up at the couple. Duncan was smiling warmly, but Maria was sitting there shaking with fear. Fear of rejection…. Fear of being left alone….. Naruto's heart went out to her.

_'How can I deny them the one thing that I have always wanted.'_ He thought, _'They have been so kind to me and have truly loved me.'_ Thinking about his past, he looked down thinking about what he should do. He was silent for several minutes, that the couple in front of them were about to explode with anticipation for his answer. Then the blonde let out a huge grin and looked up, determination flowing through his eyes. _'Whatever! I will still rescue Sasuke!'_ He thought. _'I still will become Hokage! But who says that I can't be their son as well!'_ With that he flung himself at the couple and wrapped them both in a tight hug.

"I've always wanted a family." He whispered. Maria's eyes widened at what the blonde had said. Slowly they closed back down as tears to run down her face. She wrapped both of her arms around the small blonde.

"Thank you." She whispered, "A thousand times thank you for choosing us!" She cried out at she hugged the boy for all he was worth. Tears started to run down the blondes face as well as he embraced his new mother. Duncan smiled warmly, happy to see the love of his life was in such a state of happiness.

"Welcome…." He said gently as he too wrapped the boy and his wife in a hug. "To the family….. Naruto Uzumaki Numair."

* * *

A couple weeks later, there in the doorways of the Numair's home stood a crying Maria. She looked out as she saw the two boys in her life ready to ride out to the castle.

"For goodness sake Maria." Sighed Duncan, "We're going to be back by night." Maria just bawled more at that.

"B-b-but m-m-my baby!" She cried out while blowing her nose in her hankers chief. "H-h-he's much too young for the guard!" Duncan sighed again while scratching the back of his head.

"Normally I would agree with you." He said, "But Naruto here has shown so much improvement, that the committee doesn't want to see such potential go to waste, so they wanted to start him up on guard duty despite only being 13." He patted the boy on the head affectionately, "But, I would have to say that I agree with them as well. The gaki here needs to get out of the house and see life for what the world is really like." Naruto growled lightly under the hand on the giant man in front of him.

"Geerroofff me!" He growled out. "Kaa-chaaaaan! Tell Jiji to stop picking on me!" Maria smiled warmly every time the boy would call her that. She couldn't help it. She loved the fact that he had considered her, of all people, his mother. Duncan just cuffed the boy across the head.

"Why does she get the Kaa-chan while I get the Jiji." He grumbled. "You for once could just call me father." He muttered while anime tears were going down his face as he huddled in the corner, rain clouds over his head. Maria just giggled at the two. She wiped up her tears as she head over to Naruto and tried to matt his unruly hair, but the blasted thing wouldn't be tamed.

"This blasted hair of yours." She grumbled out as Naruto struggled to get out of her grasp.

"Kaa-chan!" He grumbled, "I'm fine." Maria just smiled and kissed him affectionately on the forehead.

"I know you are Naruto-chan." She said, "I just wish that I could keep you here with me forever." Duncan sighed.

"You'll see him tonight!" Cried out. "We're only going to be gone a for at most like 10 hours or so." Maria still wouldn't listen as she sobbed over the fact that Naruto was going to be apart of the Guard.

* * *

Finally after much coaxing, both Naruto and Duncan were able to get away from Maria, they were soon both riding their horses to the gates of the castle. The fortress looked strong that was built around three towers, one much thicker than the others. Naruto looked around, he was impressed by the thinkness of the walls around the outer court as well as by the alertness of the guards that were stationed at their posts. He looked around in awe as he saw different soldiers honing their skills and practicing with one another. Others were marching around the courtyard in unison. He watched as the drill sergeant barked out sharp orders and the men attentively listened and obeyed the orders.

"Wow." He said quietly, marveling at the unity of the soldiers. Duncan chuckled a little at his reaction. He knew that in a little while, Naruto would grow to hate the endless drilling and orders being barked out at him. The endless hours of keeping watch and having guard duty…. Soon Naruto would soon grow to hate the mundane chores that these soldiers would have him go through to accept the young boy. Most recruits were around the age of 17 or 18 when they were found to be acceptable to enter into the guard. But, every now and then, there would be a younger teen who would show promise and be allowed into the guard. Naruto was sure to have a rough beginning with these men in the guard.

* * *

The next few months, Naruto had definitely rethought about his decision to become a member of the Royal Guard. Most of the men in his company were pretty cruel to the young boy, always making him take their slack of the work that needed to be done around the castle. They called it their initiation rights. Naruto just called it straight bullying. So some of the old Konoha King of Pranksters had to come out.

On the morning of one of their inspections, Naruto had painted all of the men's armor hott pink. When the inspection officer saw what the regimen was wearing, he became outraged and started to grill out the men in their ridiculous armor. Naruto just snickered until he saw a bunch of armored men running after him.

"You're not gonna get away with this Naruto!" One yelled. Naruto gleefully started giving the men a merry chase around the castle courtyard, sporadically setting off his paint bombs and sneezing powder at the men. Many of the veterans of the castle just looked onward at the scene, amusement in their eyes as they gathered on the outside of the courtyard to watch the show.

"BARON!" A soldier cried out to the man who was currently looking at the scene through his window in the tower. He just sighed.

"It's Naruto again." He said dully, only for his second in command to chuckle at the man.

"Oh I don't know Duncan." He said cheerfully, "He does spice things up around this dreary old place doesn't he? I mean look, when was the last time you saw that many colors in the courtyard?" He laughed. Duncan's shoulders slumped.

"What am I going to do with that boy Sam?" He asked, "I know that it's partially the men's fault for this, but still, he needs to learn discipline."

"That's the problem with having one join the guard at such a young age." Sam replied, "I mean look at him, he can fight off most of the Guards here with the exception of the veterans. He's skilled in hunting and tracking. And he can gather information like no one we have ever seen before." The man thought about the situation for a moment. "What if you gave him an assignment outside of the castle?" Duncan looked at the man as if he were crazy.

"Are you serious?!" He asked shocked, "He's not even six months in the Guard and you want to send him outside the castle?! Do you know how dangerous that is?!" Sam just held up his hands in his defense.

"Now now. Just listen to what I have to say." He said trying to calm down the commander. "Just give him an easy assignment that's close by." He said while picking up a piece of parchment that was on the Knight-Commanders table. "Like this one. There seems to have been some missing miners close by, this is just in the next town over. What if you sent him with a troop to go and investigate?"

Duncan took the piece of parchment from the man and looked it over. It would get Naruto out of his hair for awhile. But then again, he would get an earful from his wife if she had ever found out….. But the boy needed something else besides just standing guard. He was surprised that the boy had lasted this long personally with the long hours of guard duty….. But, those jobs were there for a reason, to develop discipline. Something of which the boy was starting to get, but still was a long ways off by any means. It was a tug-o-war of his thoughts before he made his decision.

Finally he nodded his head, "Very well." He said, "Bring him to me along with the 3rd division. I want them out of here in the morning to investigate the situation." Sam simply smiled and bowed his head before heading off to fetch the company.

* * *

"Man! This kinda sucks!" Said Naruto as he and 3 other men headed down a cavern in the side of the mountain. They had split up from the main company to cover more ground to find the missing miners.

"Shut your mouth Numair!" Snapped one of the men, "You should just be grateful you're even let out of the castle in under six months. Just because you're the Baron's son." He growled out.

"What was that you bastard!" Snarled Naruto at the man. The man's name was Brian. He was just a typical soldier who had joined the regimen at age 18, now 23, he served the guard faithfully, but for some reason he had a strong disliking for the blonde boy.

"You heard me." He snapped, "You know if it wasn't for daddy, you wouldn't even be here. Unlike you, all three of us had to work our butts off to even become a Guard." Naruto growled and looked at the others, while they said nothing, they seemed to share the same feelings as their comrade.

"Hey I had to work my fingers to the bone to even be approved by the regimen!" Naruto cried out only to get a mocking laugh from the older Guard.

"Yea right you little -….!"

"Quite!" Came the voice of one of the other two, "Something is up ahead." Everyone fell silent as they brought their torches up to see if they could see further into the darkness. Then a strong scent his Naruto's nose as he gasped in shock.

"What is it?" Said one of the guards quietly.

"Blood…." Whisper Naruto getting the other three's eyes to widen. "And lots of it." With that they turned the corner, only to see a sight that would probably haunt most of them for the rest of their lives.

Blood was splattered everywhere. Bodies and limbs were strung around everywhere. Guts and intestines were flung all over the place. The smell of decaying flesh almost made everyone in the area hurl. Flies were littered around the bodies, having their mating fest; it was a reproductive heaven for the insects. Bodies looked like they had been half eaten and flung away like trash.

"W-w-what is this!" Cried out Brian as he looked around in horror. Naruto, holding up a scarf to his nose looked down at one of the rotting corpses.

"Quiet!" He said seriously, "We don't know if there's anything else down here!" He started to examine the body. "It looks like we found some of the miners." He said getting panic looks from his patrol. "We need to report this to the lieutenant immediately!" He snapped out, only getting quick nods from the rest of the group who were still in slight shock at the sight they had seen. They had seen a lot, hell, they had fought a lot of battles, but there was nothing as gruesome what they were seeing in this mine.

As they turned an arrow pierced the helmet of one of the Guardsmen, instantly causing him to fall to the ground dead.

"AZRATH!" Cried out one Guards as he dropped his torch and ran to his friend. Naruto looked back to where the arrow came from, and saw a humanoid looking creature there with what looked like to be a horn.

"NO!' He cried out realizing his intention. He grabbed his bow that laid across his back and shot out an arrow at he creature. But it was too late. The horn sounded a low rumbling roar throughout the caves before the arrow was lodged in his skull. "Shit!" Naruto said before looking at his other Guardsmen. "I don't want to be around for when whatever he called here shows up." Pointing to the fallen guard, "Pick him up, no one gets left behind! We need to get out of here fast!" He said urgently. The other men, just nodded there heads and picked the man up before running back the way that they had come.

It was only about 5 minutes before the small group started to hear the echoing of growls, screaming, snarling, and footsteps coming up from behind.

_'Shit! We're not going to make!' _He thought as the sounds became louder and louder. Stopping he started to scrounge around in his pack.

"What are you doing?!" Cried Brian, "We need to get out of here! They're right behind us!"

"We're not gonna make it!" Naruto said, "I will buy you time, get the hell out of here and inform the lieutenant!" He shouted back as he started to lie some of his traps on the ground.

"You think that we're just going to leave you here to die?!" He cried out.

"I'm not going to die!" Naruto cried out, "I'm just buying us time so that we can reach the rest of the company! Now get out of here! I will follow shortly. If we don't get this to the lieutenant more innocent lives will be taken! NOW GET GOING!" He shouted. Brian just looked at the boy, hating himself for what he was about to do.

"You better come back alive Numair." He muttered with worry in his eyes as he and he fellow guardsmen picked up the fallen guard and ran on.

Naruto let out a small sigh before getting back to work on what he was doing. These caverns were thick, so he had to apply many paper bombs outlining the tunnel. _'Thank you Fuinjutsu.'_ He thought. As he an arrow whizzed by his head. Looking up, he saw more of the humanoid creatures gathering around and charging up the narrow path. Naruto turned tail and started to run up the tunnel. A whip came out of nowhere and wrapped itself around the boys' ankle causing him to fall to the ground.

_'Shit!' _ He thought as the beasts were already falling upon him. He brought his fingers up to form the sign, **_"KAI!"_** He shouted out.

***BOOM!***

Explosions rang throughout the tunnel. Many of the beasts howled as the explosions took their lives. The tunnel shook violently as it began to collapse on the monsters coming up through the tunnel. Naruto cut through the whip with his short sword and dashed his way up through the tunnel, avoiding the falling rocks that came crashing from the ceiling.

_'There it is!' _He thought as he saw entrance to the tunnel that they had taken before separating from the regimen. He pushed chakra in his feet and sped his way diving out of the tunnel before the entire thing collapsed on the monsters. A loud boom resonated as the tunnel collapsed.

Naruto flipped on his back taking in deep breathes. "That was close." He panted/laughed out. He rested for a second before getting to his feet and started to turn to look for his company. As he was walking away though, he heard a small rock fall from the tunnel that had just collapsed. Turning he eyed the tunnel carefully.

***BOOM***

Boulders exploded as three giant humanoid creatures came out of the rubble growling and snarling at the young guard in front of them.

"Fuck me." Naruto said as he glanced upon the giants. Each of them were easily over 13-14 feet tall. Demon-like faces with horns adorning their skulls. Armor was laid only on one arm, around their loins and the wrist of the other arm. Spikes shot out of the armor and veins buldged from the massive muscles that these creatures had. Green liquid could be seen dripping out of their grayish skin, Naruto assumed it was blood from the blast.

Naruto took out his sword and shield. _'Shit!' _He thought, _'I can't use many ninja techniques with all this armor on!'_ It was true, his speed greatly reduced as he had much weight on his body. He needed to conserve his chakra too, to move at the speed he wanted to with the bulky metal. His armor also limited his range in movement as well. Naruto was confident in his skills as a knight, but he wasn't sure if he was up to fight three of these monstrosities. It didn't look like these monsters were about to give him much time to change either. He could only hope that he would last until the rest of the regimen reached him in time to assist him.

One of the monsters decided to make its first move by picking up a nearby boulder and hurling it at the boy. Naruto dodged, latching himself against the nearby wall before rocketing over to the nearest monster sword arched back ready to take off its head. To his surprise to monster blocked his sword with his wrist guard before grabbing the young Guard and started slamming him into the ground repeatedly. Blood sprayed from Naruto's mouth as he took his sword and stabbed it into the arm of the giant. Letting out a blood-curling scream, the giant dropped Naruto, who had already latched three arrows on his bow as he was falling.

"Eat this bitch." He said as he laced the arrows with chakra. He let go of the string just as he hit the ground. The arrows flew through the base of the skull of the giant, out through the other side instantly killing the demon.

Naruto rolled out of his fall as best as he could before launching himself at one of the other beasts, both of which were charging towards him. Pulsing chakra through he shield, he chucked it at one of the oncoming giants, causing his head to snap back halting the beasts progress. Naruto went to slide underneath the legs of the other, only for one of his arms to be caught, as he was halfway through.

"URKK?!" Was all he was able to let out as he was flung across the small room, his body hitting the solid rock, effectively making a crater in the side of the wall. More blood spewed from the young teens mouth. Sensing danger, Naruto quickly pulsed chakra into his hands and feet to climb up the wall when he found his shield embedded to where he was just a second ago. Looking up he saw the second giant had regained his bearings once again.

Naruto looked at his state of dress, his armor nearly shattered from the blows that he had received, helmet gone. All he had was his shield and his sword…. Well…Naruto looked down at his sword, seeing that it was shattered. Tossing it away, he plucked his shield from the side of the cave wall before running up the wall and on the ceiling at the two giants. They started to hurl boulders at the blonde. Naruto dodged the boulders as he pulled out a short stick from his shield. Pulsing chakra through the stick, the metal started to extend into a spear.

Naruto launched himself from the ceiling and chucked what looked to be a small ball at the giants. Just as it reached them, it exploded into a bright flash of light blinding his opponents who let out a large roar while clawing at their eyes.

* * *

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Cried out the Lieutenant who was rushing back with Naruto's patrol to rescue the blonde from the army of demons that were coming up from the caverns.

"Shit! Numair you better not be dead!" Brian cried out as he and the Lieutenant picked up their pace to rescue the blonde with the rest of the regimen behind them. They stopped at they came to the entrance of their tunnel only to watch in shock and awe at the site they were witnessing.

Naruto was coming down from the ceiling, spear and shield in hand. He hit the ground hard before redirecting his gravity at one of the giants launching his spear straight through the base of its skull. Naruto then rushed to the other giant swinging his shield as hard as he could at the almost recovered giant. The giant stopped the shield in midair with one of its hands. Naruto pulled out another blade from the back of his shield, twisted his body, arm still in the grasp of the giant, and making a full circle plunged his blade into the neck of the creature.

The creature stood still for a moment…. Before gurgling out its last breathe, blood flowing from his mouth, and fell to the floor lifeless. Naruto rolled off to the side panting heavily at the foes he had just vanquished. Suddenly, he heard cheering echoing throughout the cave. He looked over surprised to see the entire 3rd division there crying out cheers of celebration over the boy. They rushed to the boy and lifted them up on their shoulders. Praises were made left and right along with pats on the backs head ruffles. Naruto simply smiled up at the older men who were now grinning at the boy and his accomplishment. Many of the men were acting like children trying to reenact the feat, that they had just witnessed. Naruto grinned as he simply as he made his way to the side of the cave and sat down to take a breather.

* * *

Naruto's victory over what he later found out were ogres, ran like wildfire throughout the entire nation of Fiore. Not only had he single handedly taken out 3 monstrous ogres, but an battalion of monsters, demon-like creatures, but collapsing part of the mine. Naruto, was no longer just the Knight-Commanders brat who got on only because of his old man, but a true hero in the light of many of the guardsmen. He had even been promoted to Warrant Officer. Receiving his very own blade that signified his rank.

When Duncan had found out just what had happened, be he couldn't have been more proud of his son. His mother on the other hand, Maria hugged the poor boy and cried out that she was never going to let the boy go again. Duncan had to many times effectively stop his wife from literally squeezing the life out of the blonde.

Duncan looked down from his window in the castle at his son. Impressed that all the praise had not gone to his head. He was now sparring with many of the different guards with what looked like to be a mace and his shield. Duncan noticed that his shield was slightly different from most, instead of just being a normal round shield, on both the top and bottom, it looked like it was edged a little inwards, coming down before coming back up on the other side. It was unique in its design, Duncan looked forward to seeing if it had a purpose or not in the future.

"So…." Came a feminine voice behind him. "That's the Naruto Uzumaki Numair that I've heard so much about." She said with a slight giggle to her voice. Ducan turned around to see a pale-skinned teen with dark purple hair and brown eyes. Her hair was down and straight that reached her mid back. The teen had a voluptuous figure, wearing a revealing dress that stopped at mid thigh, sporting a striped pattern. Many of the men in the castle, even though she was much younger, couldn't help but stop and stare at the beautiful teen. "I really can't wait to meet him. And to think, he's only 14." She said giving a predatory smirk at the boy. Duncan tightened his fist but bit his tongue.

"But you councilwoman, are only 15 going on 16, and you're already on the council. That too is a great feat in itself." He said respectfully. The girl laughed lightly.

"True, but what your son has done, definitely has the councils attention now." She said, "I can't wait to get to know him more on a…. personal level if you will." She said slightly sultry gaining a small growl from the Baron. She only smiled as she continued to watch the blonde train.

* * *

"Damn." Said the slightly sweaty blonde as he walked throughout the castle, "I wonder what the old man wants now." He was stretching one of his arms by swinging it around. Every now and then soldiers would appear and raise a greeting with the blonde. Naruto would respectfully acknowledge them and continue down his way.

He was wearing his leather armor today, seeing as he was only training. His Metal armor was expensive and he felt bad if he had to ask Duncan or Maria for the money to have more. So he bought what he could with the missions that he was assigned. Sure he could use the standard armor that the Griffon Cove Guardsman used, but Naruto was never one to just go for the ordinary. He wanted to stand out some. With time, he would be able to get armor in which could be customized to his liking.

Reaching the Knight-Commanders office, he gave a salute to the two guards there who saluted him back, he reached up and knocked on the large oak door,

"Come in!" He heard his father on the other side. Opening the door, he walked in. "Alright ya old geezer, what'dya want with me this time…" He paused when he saw that his father wasn't sitting in his chair, but a beautiful girl a few years older than himself.

"Now that's not very nice." She said amusement running through her eyes. "I've still yet to hit my peak of beauty don't you think." She enjoyed the scene unfold in front of her as she saw the boy flush a slight red. Duncan then stepped in.

"Naruto. I would like you to meet Councilwoman Ultear Milkovich. She comes from the Magic Council from the capital in Crocus." He paused and Naruto saw that his father had clenched his jaw slightly. "She has some business that she would like to address with you." Ultear only smiled at the strain that she heard in the man's voice.

"Yes indeed Naruto-kun." She said sexually, looking over the toned muscles in the growing boys body, "I can't wait for the both of us to get to know each to other better." She said licking her lips.

* * *

**END**

**Alright here we are. Now just to explain some things. Naruto is hiding most of his ninja abilities and focusing on his Guard skills because he's not really sure how others will react when they find out he can do superhuman things. True mages are in the world, but he's living in a castle full of Guardsmen who kind of look down on the Mage Guilds. The cannon fodder you know, not the higher ups. Naruto wants Duncan to be proud of him so he doesn't want to say anything. Hope that makes sense. **

**You'll be seeing more of Naruto's fighting ability within the next chapter so hopefully you like it. As for pairings, they are not set up in this story yet. I'm setting it up so that Naruto can be with many of the girls, but we'll see who I decided to stick with. Also Naruto is going to be interacting with many of the different mages in the other guilds as well. So he'll be making stops off at Fairy Tail, Lamina Scale, Blue Pegasus…..etc….**

**I'm putting a new poll up on my profile if you guys want to know. I feel bad cause I haven't updated my other stories in a little bit. But, I just keep having these ideas coming into my head with these crossovers. So here it is. I'm already ¾'s done with the next chapter for this story, but after that, I want to know, which story you guys want me to update. Then, I will focus solely on that story until I can get an update for the chapter. **

**Anyways, I think that I have talked enough. Sorry for the long wait on the updates, but hey guys….. I got to live in this life too. Not solely in the Naruto world, as awesome as that would be. Anyways guys, let me know what you think. Please no flames. Constructive Criticism is always appreciated. I think with that note, one of my goals on this site is to make it so that 0 Jordinio 0 can't find anything that I make better about the story. I swear, he always finds something. It's a good thing guys, to point this stuff out. This guy does a good job at it. But to those who just get pissed, don't be an ass. K I've ranted long enough. Want to say thanks to my new Beta for this story Dracul666. Guys nice enough to beta the story even without starting to read the chapter in the first place. My hats off to him. **

**Thanks guys. Hope you like it. Make sure to leave a little review down here in this little white box. Later people.**


	2. The Knight and Titania

**Alright. Here we are with chapter 2. Sorry that I'm slacking on these other stories of mine, but for some reason, I've just got Naruto and Fairy Tail stuck in my head. Sorry guys, I really am. Maybe I need to read some more one piece and Naruto crossovers. I find that whenever I read a certain story, it makes me want to write my own. Anyways.**

**Also guys….. I've already said this. I talked with DeExil, he said it was cool if I used some of his ideas. But that's it…. They are just ideas. This isn't the exact same story as his. Especially after this chapter or the next, it will fully be mine. This chapter does still have elements of his story in it. But it is still different regardless. Can't tell you how many reviews or pms I got saying stuff like that. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own nothing. Well except my laptop, and a couple of other things. But not Naruto or Fairy Tail… I wonder if we really need to write this. Have people been sued for not writing a disclaimer?**

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Knight and Titania**

* * *

Duncan growled audibly at the conduct that the councilwoman was showing his son. But there was nothing that he could do. The Magic Council held an enormous political power within the kingdom and without causing chaos. Many of the council members, Duncan actually got along well with, but there were a couple, this woman for example, that rubbed Duncan the wrong way. Rarely had his instincts ever been wrong.

"Now now Duncan." Ultear said carefree. "There's no need to be like that." She stood up and walked around the desk towards Naruto. Only standing a few inches taller than the boy, she grasped his face in one hand and stared straight into his cerulean blue eyes. "After all, this is all for you Naruto-kun." She relished in the fact that Naruto turned bright red at the intimate act that she was showing.

"Councilwoman Milkovich." Duncan said, "I find this conduct to be slightly inappropriate for this occasion. If you could please explain to Guardsman Nuamir what it is that you need done." Ultear frowned a little as she let the boys face go.

"Oh very well." She said mindlessly as she turned back to the desk, hopping up on it and crossed her legs. "Guardsmen Uzumaki Silverback." She said in a slightly more professional tone, "You're actions in the Galashia Mines have earned you attention from not only the Court of Justice, who serve as counselors to the King, but also to the Magic Council themselves." Naruto's eyes widened. He wasn't aware that his accomplishment had made that much of an impact. "As such, the Magic Council has decided to give you a small examination on how well you can handle yourself." Naruto quirked an eyebrow.

"Examination?" He asked, "Examination for what?" Ultear smiled.

"Why, to join the Rune Knights of course." She said. "Such talent can be developed and honed into something great. We simply want to bring out your potential." She said. Naruto stayed silent for a moment before looking up at the black haired beauty.

"I sincerely appreciate your offer and opportunity that you have given me, but I am sorry to admit that I must decline." Both Duncan and Ultear's eyes widened at this.

"I wish that you would think this through young guardsman." Ultear said with slightly narrowed eyes. "There are many who would be willing to give everything they had so that they might have the opportunity to join the Rune Knights." Naruto nodded his head.

"I understand fully Councilwoman Milkovich." Naruto said professionally. "But I have made my decision." He stood a little taller, "My father is a Knight of the Royal Guard. He's one of the strongest men that I know. My goal, is to aim higher than that." He stated slightly surprising both occupants in the room. "I will become a greater Knight than my father….. Than any Knight has ever become, whether they are Rune Knights or not! This is my goal! This is my dream!" Duncan smiled warmly at his son, honestly, he couldn't have been a prouder father if he had wanted to. After a moment Ultear chuckled a little at the bold proclamation.

"Well, well Naruto-kun." Ultear giggled, "I guess I can expect great things from you then… Regardless, this assignment is just more than to see if you would have proven to been a worthy Rune Knight. But it's also to see if both the Magic Council and the Court of Justice, can count on you in aid when your help is most needed." Naruto stood slightly taller and nodded at the woman to continue. "In the mountainous region of Mt. Hakobe, there have been incidents and reports of missing individuals that have come of late….." She paused for a second. "Normally we would send for a request from one of the neighboring magic guilds…." She trailed off as she winked at the blonde, "But with such a courageous Guardsman here, we couldn't pass up such an opportunity to see you in action. Plus, we don't have to shell out the jewels either." She added as Naruto slightly frowned, just seeing the Magic Council was just being cheap. "Your job is to go and investigate the disappearances of these individuals and report back to the capital in Crocus. If a situation occurs, retaliate with reason. Those are your orders Guardsman. You are dismissed until further notice." She finished with a more professional conduct than she had the entire meeting.

"Understood Ma'am." Naruto said saluting to the girl before turning and marching out of the office to prepare for his journey. As the door shut, Ultear merely chuckled.

"I could get to like that boy." She said. Duncan in the corner narrowed his eyes at the girl.

"If that is all councilwoman, there is still much to be done. I can have you escorted to your chambers for the night, or if you would prefer to the nearest station to return to the capital." He said in a tight voice. The girl sighed.

"I wish you would take it easy Knight-Commander. After all, this is a great honor for your son." She said, "If he succeeds with flying colors, then he will be granted the title of Knighthood." The Knight Commander merely grunted.

"I still don't think that he's ready for it yet even if he does complete the mission with colors." He grumbled. Ultear looked at the man with a smile.

"Can't be helped." She said. "This is more of a political move than anything as I am sure that you are aware. The Royal Guard has taken some hits within the past few years. Hopes and moral of the troops will be lifted when they hear that, Naruto Numair, has risen through the ranks of the Guard. Even becoming the youngest Knight ever recorded in Fiore's history." She glanced back at the door. "We will make him a legend among the Royal Guard." She said. Duncan merely grunted again, his disapproval evident. But if it was both councils will, along with the King's….. There was really nothing that could be done.

* * *

Naruto walked down the corridor of the train that he was riding on. He decided the quickest route to Mt. Hakobe, would be travel to Magnolia, before accommodating transport to rech his final destination. Currently he was looking for a cabin so that he could sit and rest for a moment. But it seemed as if most of the cabins were full. He continued his way down the corridor, looking in each to see if there would be any room for him and his new traveling companion.

* * *

"Lisanna honestly." Sighed a girl with white hair. She had on a dark, skimpy sleeveless shirt adorned by some light curved motifs in the region of her bountiful chest. She wore a pair of leather shorts held up by a studded belt with a demonic-looking buckle and thigh-high boots with stiletto heels, each bearing a skull with a flower on the upper front. She also had on a bracelet-shaped like a demonic arm around her right wrist, a ring on the same hand's middle finger, and dark nail polish. . "You're too easy going!" She snapped, "You need to shape up or you're never going to get anything done in this world." Lisanna, a young petite girl with short, white hair and blue eyes, simply smiled at her older sister.

"You have to be a man to get by in this world." Came the baritone voice of a giant male that was sitting next to them. It was obvious that these three were siblings just by looking at them. Lisanna, the smallest of the three, just laughed at their responses before the door to their cabin slid open.

Through the opening of the door, a helmet poked through looking at the trio. "Excuse me," A male voice came from the helmet. "Do you mind if I share this cabin with you, everywhere else is full." The sister that admonished Lisanna was about to tell the jackass to buzz off before said girl beat her to the punch.

"Sure come on in!" She chirped. The man nodded, and opened the door fully, coming in. All three siblings took appearance of the man. By attire, it looked as though he was a Royal Guardsman, but his uniform was slightly different. Instead of the normal platted scaled metallic looking armor that they normally adorned. This man's armor was smoother and had a dark gray look to it. He bore a mace on his waist, bow and arrows behind with a sword as well. Another short sword lay horizontally across the lower part of his back. Finally his round shield finished the touches of his weaponry. His helmet was a flat piece of metal with two eye slits where the trio could see that blue eyes pierced through them. Strangely enough, there was also a cat that was resting on the man's armored shoulder.

The cats eyes were wide open though, no emotions were held within them as it stared at the siblings. They had a sea green look to them, large black lines ringed his eyes giving the cat a more feral look. For the most part, the catss fur was a maroonish color, it had a white muzzle, with red patch of fur that adorned the top of his head. If they didn't know any better, they could've mistaken the red fur as tufts of hair. Underneath a part of the cats bangs, they could see a red kanji symbol for the term 'Love' upon his fur.

"Whew!" Sighed out the man, "Thank you so much!" He said as he started to take off his weapons. When done he sat down, reaching up to unclasp his helmet. "You have no idea how long I was looking for a place to rest." The helmet came off, and the three teens were surprised to find that there in front of them was a boy around their age. Blonde hair, blue eyes, whisker marks that lined his cheeks. He cocked a foxy grin at the three. "Thanks again. My name is Naruto Uzumaki by the way." He said brightly as he pointed his thumb to himself. Lisanna, being the chipper person she was bounced right back at the blonde.

"Nice to meet you Uzumaki-san." She chirped, "I'm Lisanna. This here is my older brother and sister Elfman and Mirajane." Naruto looked up at the two. Elfman simply nodded his head and offered a grin before glancing back to Naruto's armory. Mirajane simply huffed her reply before looking away angrily.

"Well its nice to meet all of you as well." He eyes widened as he realized something. "Oh yea." He said as he lifted the cat that was on his shoulder down to the seat right next to him. "This little guy here is Gaara. Say hello Gaara." Naruto smiled. Gaara just stared blankly at the three that sat in front of him. Lisanna had stars in her eyes.

"Oh my gosh! Aren't you just to cutest little thing!" She cried out as she glomped the cat and started nuzzling the crap out of him.

"Please stop." Came the monotoned voice of the cat. All three of their eyes widened.

"He can talk?!" Said a shocked Mirajane.

"Just like Happy…." Whispered Elfman as Lisanna put the emotionless cat back down on the seat. Naruto quirked his eyebrow.

"You guys mean that you know of another talking cat?" He asked.

"Yea, he's my and my husbands child!" Lisanna chirped. Naruto gawked at the girl in front of him who looked to be 12 or 13 years old.

"Y-y-your child?... You're kidding right?" He asked out comically causing Lisanna only to giggle and nod her head before getting whacked.

"Itaii!" She said holding her head while a angered Mirajane loomed over her.

"Happy is not your child and Natsu will never be your husband! Do you understand?!" She yelled at the girl only to receive a nervous laugh in return. Elfman just sighed.

"Lisanna and another boy that we know found a giant egg awhile back. The two of them worked hard together so that the egg would hatch." Elman explained. "Turns out, when it did hatch, a talking winged blue cat came out of the egg." Naruto nodded as he listen to the short story as he watched in the corner of his eye Mirajane reprimanding her sister while Lisanna just laughed nervously. He smiled at the scene fondly.

_'They must be a pretty good family.'_ He thought before returning his attention to Elfman. "Funny, it's kinda like how I met Gaara here." He said patting the cat on the head, receiving one purr in response….. One purr. This got everyone's attention.

"Really?" Asked Lisanna, "How did you and Gaara meet if you don't mind me asking?" Nartuo smiled a little remembering past events that had only happened 2 days ago.

* * *

**Flashback no Jutsu:**

_The night vanished as dawn came, sunlight passed over the mountains and onto the blonde guardsman. Slowly blinking himself awake from the rays that were hitting his eyes, the blonde gave a loud yawn as he stretched rocking back and forth in his hammock up high in the trees. Rubbing his eyes, his stomach rumbled loudly, alerting the boy that it was hungry. _

_"Yea yea." He said to himself. "Keep your pants on." Giving another yawn, the boy looked down into the trees from his high vantage point. "Well hello there." He said with a grin as he spotted his breakfast._

_On one of the branches, lay a giant egg with brown marking lining the shell. Quickly getting up, he packed up his hammock and hopped down the branches of the adjacent trees until reaching his destination. _

_"Holy shit this thing is huge!" He said. "Alrighty. Hope you like being my breakfast." He grinned as he snatched the egg and hopped to the ground. A few minutes later, he had a large fire roaring as he took out a pan and place the egg on it. Naruto practically drooled at the massive meal that he was about to eat. A few minutes later though, he heard a large crack._

_"Huh?" he said as he looked at the egg. Another crack resonated. Then another. Soon the egg started shaking like crazy as pieces fell from the shell left and right. Naruto jumped back in caution, not really knowing what was going on. Then all of a sudden, a cat popped out of the egg._

_"Holy shit! That's a cat!" Cried out Naruto, stating the obvious to himself. The cat slowly sat up and looked around until setting his eyes upon Naruto. Naruto stared at the cat for a minute before choking out a laugh._

_"Mmfffpphh…. Gaara just turned into a cat. Mmffffpphh!" He struggled to hold in his laughter."HAHAHAHA! Holy shit! Gaara's a cat! HAHAHAHA! He even has that lame tattoo on his head! HAHAHAHA!" He started to pound the ground trying to control his laughter to no avail. _

_Said cat just stared at the hysterical teen for a moment._

**_*KILL*_**

_ Something inside of him began to stirred. _

_"Kill…." He said in a monotoned voice. Naruto who was still shaking from his laughing looked up at the little kitty._

_"Hehehe. What was that little buddy? __***snort***__" He asked__**. **__The cat stared at the teen more. _

_"Kill…." He said a little louder this time. Naruto now shot him a look of confusion._

_"Huh?" He said. The cats face started to morph into a sadistic grin._

_"Kill. Kill! KILL!" His voice became louder and louder with each time he said the word. "MAKE ME FEEL ALIVE MORTAL! IT CALLS FOR YOUR BLOOD!" He shouted as he lunged for the guard. _

_"WHAT THE FU-!" He started before the cat latched on top of his head biting the entire thing. "OW!OW!OW!OW! GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME YOU CRAZY CAT!" He shouted frantically as he started running around in circles trying to pull the insane feline off of his head. "I ALREADY DEALT WITH ONE CRAZY GAARA! I DON'T NEED ANOTHER IN MY LIFE!" Finally he tore the cat off and chucked him away from him into a tree causing a huge crack to be heard from the impact that the cat had made with the tree. _

_Naruto stared at the cat as it slowly slid down to the base of the trunk. Slowly the cat began to get back to its feet shakily. "Yes!" He said crazily, "Make me feel alive! Prove my existence! THE VOICE CALLS FOR YOUR BLOOD!" He yelled as sand started to surround the tiny cat. _

_"You've got to be shitting me, right?" Naruto asked himself as he watched the small whirlwind of sand encase the cute little kitty. When the sand died down, there instead of the cat, stood a small 1-2 foot Tanuki. Naruto's eyes widened._

_"All right." He said, "Someone has to be fucking with me now. There's no way this could be happening!" He cried out as the now sand tanuki shot sand out at the Guard._

**_'SAND LANCE!'_**_ Three sharp lance shaped sand attacks shot out at Naruto who quickly dodged the attack. The shots hit the boulder behind him causing the rock to gain gashes along the surface, Naruto's eyes widened._

**_'That's a little more powerful than I thought it would be.'_**_He thought, __**'Don't want to get hit by those. Won't do much, but it would still hurt.'**__ With that the blonde created a clone that dashed towards the smaller tanuki while he jumped in the air. _

_"YES! YEEESSSS!" The cat laughed out. "MAKE ME FEEL ALIVE!" He cried out as he let all of Gaurdmans blows be swept to the side with his sand. _

_"WOULD YOU SHUT UP ALREADY?!" Came a voice from above him. Looking up he saw another blonde come down upon him with his shield, smashing both the tanuki and the cat inside._

**_*BOOM!*_**

_A small crater was formed from the impact of the shield. The cat lay on the ground, no longer surrounded by his sand defense, panting heavily. Naruto dismissed his clone and looked down at the cat. _

_"….H…H-how are you so s-strong?" The cat gasped out as he looked up at the blue-eyed teen in front of him. Naruto sighed. This was turning into a joke more than anything. He looked back down at the cat. _

'He really does look lost.'He thought, _'I guess I could tell him the same thing I told Garra.'_

_"For the people that are precious to me," Naruto sighed again as he brought a hand through his hair, "If anyone were to ever hurt them….." His look then turned dark, "If anyone were to try to kill the. I will stop them." The cat stared again at the teen, trying to digest what the blonde had just said._

_"W-w-why?" He whispered. "Why would you do such a thing? All you need it power, NOTHING ELSE! YOU CAN ONLY RELY ON YOURSELF!" He cried out tears filling his eyes._

_"I've already told this to someone who was exactly in your same position." He said quietly, "Because they rescued me from a hell of being alone… They acknowledged my existence…. That's why, they are all the most important to me." The cat stared in shock at the teen. He came out of the egg, so much rage and hate, wanting to kill the first thing he could see. But looking at this teen, something else stirred within him. Peace started to enter into his being as he watched the guardsman in front of him look kindly at the cat. Then the cat realized what the blonde had been talking about the entire time. _

_"…..Love….." He whispered as he slowly slid into darkness. __**'That's why this guy is so strong.' **__The cat thought._

* * *

**End Flashback no Jutsu:**

Naruto smiled at the rest of the crew. "Yep! And that's how Gaara and I met! Since then, he decided to come along with me and see how the world works." He said happily as both Lisanna and Elfman were crying anime tears. Mirajane's eyes softened as she listened to the story.

_'A little freaky though.'_ Mira thought while glancing over to the cat.

"That's what a real man would do!" He cried out. Lisanna cried out her agreement by smothering the cat yet once again.

"Once again I'll ask, please let me go." Garra said while being nuzzled by the girl. Naruto laughed at the scene, which was soon followed by the rest of the group. Gaara, finally being put down on his seat. He let out a sigh.

"So where are you guys headed?" Naruto asked the three politely. Lisanna, the unofficial spokesperson smiled.

"We're heading for Magnolia where our guild is!" She said brightly. All three noticed Naruto briefly check out their guild marks.

"Guild huh?..." He said more to himself. "You three are mages?" He asked genuinely curious. Lisanna smiled at the Guard.

"Yep!" She smiled brightly, "In fact, Mirajane here is an S-class mage." She said before getting a small whack to the head.

"Lisanna!" She said getting a little red in the face from the praise she got along with the way the guard stared at her.

_'Damn…. What's wrong with me?'_ She thought as she glanced back at the guard before turning her head to the side again, staring at the wall.

"Wow." Naruto said smiling at Mira, "I've never met any mages before let alone such a powerful one." Mira simply turned her head in the other direction, her face lighting up.

"Sorry about my sister here." Lisanna smirked, "She's not used to talking to handsome Knights like yourself." Mirajane's face went bright red at that.

"LISANNA!" She cried out embarrassed as she started to shake her sister around telling her to deny that statement. Naruto just mused at the information that the girl just said.

"S-class huh?' He said causing the little fight between the two girls to instantly stop. He then smiled. "That's really impressive. You must be really strong then." He said looking at the white haired goth. Mirajane's face once again took a red hue before she turned her head slightly.

"I sure could kick your ass." She muttered quietly, angry at the way that she was behaving. Naruto just laughed at the comment

"Anyways, I'm just a Guard, not a Knight." Naruto said, "But I hope to become one, one day." He smiled. Lisanna just beamed back at him

"I'm sure that one day you will Uzumaki-san!" She said brightly.

"Ara ara….. So what type of magic can you guys use?" He asked with stars in his eyes. Lisanna giggled at the blonds giddiness.

"Well, my siblings and I can use a Caster Type magic called Take Over Magic." She said, causing Naruto's head to cock to the side in confusion.

_'KAWAIII!'_ Thought both Lisanna and Mirajane as they saw the cute face of confusion that the blonde was giving them

"Take Over Magic?" He asked, getting a nod from the youngest girl.

"That's right." She said, "Take Over Magic allows the user to take over the power, or body, of a creature or person and use it in combat." She explained. "It can increase the power, strength, and speed of the caster." Naruto's eyes went wide at the thought.

"Wow." He said, "That sounds pretty powerful." Lisanna nodded.

"That's right. I use Animal Soul Take Over Magic." She pointed to her brother. "My brother here uses Beast Soul Take Over, while Mira-nee here uses Satan Soul Take Over Magic." Naruto stared at the three siblings for a moment.

"That…" he started, "Is so COOL!" He shouted surprising the three at the blonds level of excitement. "Man you guys are super cool! I wish I could do awesome stuff like you guys can." He said as he sat back down in his seat. The three just gave the blonde an amused smile, having seen this type of look before. Not many in the world could utilize magic. In fact only a small percentage could even do so. So it wasn't rare to find people who wanted to be able to use magic as well.

"So Uzumaki-san," Lisanna started, "Where are you going if you don't mind me asking?" Elfman nodded his head also curious as to where this particular Guardsman was headed off to.

"Yea, we usually don't get many guardsmen coming this way from Griffon's Cove. It's pretty unusual actually." Both Mirajane and Lisanna looked at Elfman.

"Why's that? We see Guardsmen running around all the time here." Mirjane asked curiously. Royal Guardsmen were literally everywhere. What was so special about this one she wondered. Elfman just shook his head.

"But he's a Guardsmen of Griffon's Cove." He said firmly. "They are probably some of the most elite Guardsmen in all of the nation of Fiore. They are responsible for distinguishing oncoming attacks from other nations from across the seas, or hunting down pirates that use the water ways to attack other ships." He explained. "Without that fortress, Fiore would probably be in a state of chaos with bandits and pirates running everywhere. That or invading forces would begin to set up base there, for it is definitely a site where they are positioned in an advantageous location." Both Mira and Lisanna looked wide eyed at the blonde in front of them who was just chuckling.

"I'm impressed Elfman." He said, "You really know your stuff. " Elfman just nodded his head before looking down in thought.

"But, usually, because that specific branch is so elite, most members of the Guard there don't join until they're about 18 or so." He looked up at the blonde. "You're about our age…. So how are you in _that_ guard?" He asked before glancing at the short sword that Naruto had laid down when he first came in the cabin. "And a Warrant Officer no less." Mira and Lisanna glanced at their brother in confusion.

"I'm even more impressed that you noticed that." Naruto laughed out. "As for the 18 rule…. Meh…. It's just an average of when applicants are usually ready to join the guard." Naruto explained with his hand in the air. "I just happened to fit the bill more than most." He grinned. He picked up his short sword and looked at it fondly. "As for my rank….. I just got promoted a few weeks ago actually." Elfman's eyes widened.

"How did that happen?" He asked surprised. Naruto just grinned again.

"Sorry Elfman." He said with a single finger waving at him. "That's actually pretty secret business there. So I can't really divulge anything." He said smiling. Seeing as Elfman went quite, the teen just sighed. "Fine…" He said, "Let's just say that I received it because of a battle." Elfman looked up at the blonde.

"But….. You're so young to hold that rank." He said. Naruto snorted.

"Age has nothing to do with it." He said. "If you have the ability, then age shouldn't matter." He then looked up at Mirajane. "You look like your only a year or two older than me, but I can see that you're the most powerful one here out of the three of you right?" He asked somewhat rhetorically. Mirajane's eyes snapped open with slight surprise. "She's a S-class mage as well. She's gotta be one of the youngest S-class that I've heard of. So you see, age really doesn't matter that much." He said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Anyways to answer your question, I'm also heading for Magnolia." He said turning to Lisanna. "But I'm only passing through so that I can travel to Mt. Hakobe."

"Mt. Hakobe?" Elfman questioned. Naruto nodded.

"Yea. The Magic Council assigned me a mission to complete there…. So here I am." He said.

"But why would the Magic Council assign you a mission when our guild is already so close?" Questioned Mira. Naruto shrugged.

"No idea. One minute I'm just taking orders from the higher ups, the next I'm in a room with this chick from the Magic Council saying I need to go on this mission. Personally, I just think that they just don't want to fork out the dough." Aside from the test part to become a member of the Rune Knights, he wasn't sure why this mission hadn't been passed to the guild when he refused to be a part of the group. Elfman looked down think about the odd situation that the boy was in.

_'The Magic Council doesn't interfere with the missions that are already assigned for the Guard….. So why would they take interest in one Guardsman… And such a young one as well….. Not to mention he's from Griffon's Cove….. Those guys hardly leave that area of Fiore…..' _ He thought for a moment before he eyes widened. _'Unless…' _

"Yo Elfman. You ok there?" Naruto waved in front of his face causing the giant man to blink.

"Huh?... Oh yea…. I'm fine Uzumaki-san…. Sorry about that. Looks like I dozed off there for a moment." He said with an embarrassed smile. Naruto just grinned at the man.

"Don't worry about it." He said, "Happens to me all the time." He grinned

"So Naruto." Elfman started quickly, "Why don't you tell us a little about yourself." Naruto just blinked. "You know, what you like to do and stuff." Elfman laughed awkwardly trying to steer their conversation in another direction. Both of his sisters looked at the man weird before shrugging it off as something weird.

* * *

The rest of the trip involved the four, plus one silent cat, getting to know one another. Both siblings were surprised with how cordial Mirajane was being with the Guardsman, which Lisanna took every opportunity to point that out and how the two should get to know each other better. This came with loud denials from the elder sister with lots of smacks to the head along with body shakings. Laughter resonated from the cabin for the rest of the trip as Naruto recounted adventurous pranks that he had led in the Griffon's Cove Castle during his training.

After several hours of fun, the group road up in a carriage that was being pulled by a purple boar, up to the doors of their guild. Naruto looked up at the guild whistling.

"Wow. That's pretty impressive you guys." He smiled as the three siblings descended from the carriage with their belongings.

"You sure you don't want to come in and meet everybody Naruto?" Lisanna asked. "I know that Mira-nee wouldn't mind spending a little more time with you." She smirked before receiving another welt to the head. Naruto laughed at their interactions.

"Sorry Lisanna-chan." He apologized. "I really should get going. Unfortunately I gotta listen to the Council. You know, Guard oath and all." He said nonchalantly. "Maybe on the way back though." He said causing Lisanna to give him a smile and a nod. "Anyways, see you guys later." He said as he started to take off in the carriage.

"Bye Naruto! Bye Gaara!' Lisanna shouted after the two.

"Remember to be a man you two!" Elfman yelled. Mirajane scoffed at the way her siblings acted.

"Idiots…" She muttered.

"Don't you want to say goodbye to your Knight in shining armor?" Lisanna said giving her sister a mischievous smirk, only to receive another slap to the back of the head.

"Stop making things up!" Mira cried out her face turning red once again. What the hell was wrong with here she thought. Elfman just laughed as they continued to watch the carriage disappear in the distance.

"That guy is going to need a lot of luck with his next mission. " Elfman sighed causing both Mira and Lisanna to look up at the man.

"What do you mean Elf-nii?" Lisanna asked.

"I didn't want to say it in front of Naruto-san, but it seems that the Magic Council is giving him a test." Elfman replied.

"A test?" Lisanna asked, "A test for what?" Mirajane also looked at her brother in curiosity. Elfman scratched his head.

"Well it could be for a couple of things." He said. "The first is to see if Naruto-san would be worthy to enter into the Rune Knights." Both Mira and Lisanna's eye widened slightly at this. "The second….. would be a test to be granted the title of Knight." Mirajane eyes this time shot open wide.

"Knight?" Mirajane said quietly. Lisanna only looked on in confusion.

"But I thought Naruto was already a Knight." She said causing Elfman to slowly shake his head.

"No. He even corrected you and said that he wasn't. To become a Knight is a huge deal in the entire Fiore Nation." He said. "In fact there are very few Knights that exist in Fiore today. I would say a good 20 or so exist today." He looked at the path that Naruto had taken to leave. "The fact that Naruto-san might be given a chance to gain a knighthood, means that he must be a very powerful guard. Their quests that are given to them are ridiculous. They're just as hard than S-class quests." Lisanna gasped.

"But that's only if it is a test for that reason." Elfman said, "Most likely, the council is evaluating Naruto to see if he is worthy to become a Rune Knight….." he paused, "Still though…. That does take some skill to do." The trio looked down the path that Naruto and Gaara had taken, hoping that they would remain safe.

* * *

Wind blew hard against the guardsman's armor as he trudged along in on the snowy path of the desolate mountain of Mt. Hakobe. Naruto marched along in the night as his footsteps were quickly filled in from the snowstorm.

"H-h-holy shit!" Naruto shivered. "It's freakin freezing out here." Much to Naruto's lack annoyance, it appears that when metal had a near freezing environment, it too would turn icy cold. "How are you not freezing?" The blonde looked to his right on his shoulder. Peering through the eyeslits in his helmet, he saw Gaara there sitting normally as if the weather wasn't affecting him.

"It is chilly," The cat said dully. "But I have a layer of sand wrapped around my body acting as an insulator so that my body heat won't escape." If Naruto had his helmet off, you would see his right eyebrow twitching furiously.

"Well whoopty fucking doo to you…." He said sarcastically. Begrudgingly, he trudged along in the storm grumbling about stupid hott council women and sending him on ridiculously cold quests and such. "Wait a minute…. You're like 3 days old. How the hell do you know something like that?!" The blonde demanded. The only response he got back was silence, causing the blonde to start grumbling to himself once again. This continued for about another 30 minutes before both Naruto and Garra saw a shadow loom in the distance.

"What is that?" Naruto asked, Garra just remained silent as they got closer. The closer they got, the shadow grew in size. Taking a final step both Naruto and Gaara looked at the massive structure that was before them. "What is this place?" They looked on as they saw an ancient run down fortress in the midst of the snowstorm. The structure looked to have been made of stone and at one point in time, looking as though it would have been a strong castle….. Now though, pillars lay broken on the ground, half covered in snow. All the windows were shattered. The gates were bent and broken at their frames, as well as the doors. Naruto started to tremble slightly.

"W-w-well a-alright." He said quickly, "I think that we've seen enough. This place looks right as rain…. Sooooo we'll just look somewhere else." He turned slightly before having an annoying cat start to hover in front of his face. "What?" He tried to ask innocently.

"This is the first thing remotely suspicious that we have seen out here that might help us understand where the missing people have gone. Now you want to just leave because you're scared." Gaara said with a non-existant eyebrow raised.

"S-scared?! Me! Pfffftt! That's ridiculous!" Naruto cried out indignantly. "I just don't think that we would find anything there." Gaara just looked at the blonde for a moment.

"You think it's haunted." He said dully. He saw Naruto's body snap ridged for a moment. "Baka…." Naruto turned around sharply.

"Hey! I've seen those movies before." He yelled out. "That place right there is just screaming out ghost city waiting to eat up my soul!" He cried as he pointed to the gloomy castle. "Now unless you have some sort of magic where you can get rid of ghosts , then we're outta here." He said in a tone where it sounded like that was that. He started to march away with his nose up in the air, until he felt something latch onto his ankle causing him to trip falling face first into the snow.

"DAMMIT!" He said, looking down he saw that Gaara had a hold of him with his sand. And with that, the cat started to head to the castles entrance dragging the kicking and screaming blonde behind him.

"COME ON GAARA!" He shouted with anime tears running down his face. "DON'T DO THIS MAN! IT'S NOT HEALTHY TRUST ME! THE MOVIES ARE ALL TRUE! YOU CAN'T KILL A GHOST! COME ON! COME ON! SOMEBODY SAVE ME!" He cried out as the two passed through the doors and into the castle.

* * *

"Well this place isn't gloomy at all." Naruto said as he held up a torch in one of the hallways of the massive structure. After his little embarrassing episode out front, Naruto went through his supplies and brought out a torch and acted like nothing had happened at all. He brought up his hands into a familiar handsign.

**_'Kage no Bushin!'_** He said quietly as 3 clones popped into existence. The clones merely nodded at him as they took off down separate corridors. The original and Gaara then started walking down the corridor passing the trash and rubbage that littered the hallway. Pictures of what looked to be many lords and ladies were now ripped and torn from their places on the walls. Desks and chairs were shattered and broken into pieces. Fine pieces kitchen ware and other household items lay everywhere.

Naruto and Gaara continued down the hallway till a familiar scent entered into their noses. "Blood." They both whispered picking up their pace and entering into the next corridor. They looked down the hall and saw blood everywhere. Along the walls, puddles were still on the floor of the liquid. No bodies were present though. Many clothes laid strunned off to the side into a pile. Many of them were ripped and blood soaked. Naruto's eyes widened at he looked down the hall.

"What happened here?" He asked himself. Gaara continued to stare down the hall. "Come on." Naruto said, "We need to figure out what is going on." Gaara nodded and followed the Guard down the hall.

Taking a few turns here and there, Naruto followed the blood trail in the castle. Listening for any movement that might occur. His heart was racing fast in his chest as he went further and further into the castle. Soon Naruto picked up something. Gaara's ear twitched as well. They listened carefully for a moment.

"Whimpering?" Questioned Naruto as Gaara just nodded his head pointing a paw down a set of stairs.

"It's coming from down there." Naruto nodded and both started walking down the stony steps. The steps spiraled round and round until they finally reached the bottom of the staircase. In front of them stood a large wooden door. The whimpering grew louder as they continued to walk forward. Naruto touched the door slightly before taking in a breath and pushed the door open.

Both Naruto and Gaara's eyes narrowed as they peered within the slightly litted room. There were cells upon cells of creatures that were locked up. Naruto peered closely at the closest cage. "Lycans." He said with an icy touch to his voice. As soon as he said that, he voice echoed throughout the dungeon.

***ROOOAAAARRRRR***

Every beast seemed to lunge themselves at the two trying to ripped them apart, but they were held back by the steel bars that were holding them in place. Snarls and gnashing of teeth were heard as the beasts tried to break their way through the metal to no avail.

Naruto and Gaara looked on at the scene. Naruto's hand clench in anger. "These poor souls." He whispered as he as both he and Gaara walked past the cages creatures.

"There must be about 50-60 or so here." Gaara observed. "I wonder who captured them all?" He asked. Naruto nodded. Someone or someones' who had imprisoned this many Lycans, had to have been a powerful force to deal with. Lycans were known for their speed and viciousness. People have gone crazy just because they have encountered these bloodthirsty monsters.

Naruto remembered learning about Lycans from his training and classes in Griffon's Cove. These evil beast were said to feast upon the flesh of anything they could really get their claws on. Even if it meant that they would turn on each other. Naruto looked at the mindless bloodthirsty beasts. They all looked relatively unharmed….. so was it just rumor that they would turn on another…. Or was it that they were being placated somehow….. Naruto thought about it for awhile before realizing something.

"Why are they transformed?" He asked getting Gaara to look up at him. "Werewolves only turn into this form when the moon is full….. So how are they in this state?" Gaara and Naruto looked upon the growling monsters.

"Maybe it has something to due with those shackles." Gaara observed. Naruto glanced at each of the wolf like creatures, noticing that each of them had on shackles around their wrists and ankles. Strange markings adorned the metal, almost like seals…. Most likely runes of some sort.

"Maybe….." Naruto said slowly before sighing. "These poor souls…." He said again sadness and anger radiated throughout his being. "Once cursed, always cursed." He said walking a little closer to the cages to get a better look at the creatures. They had grown weary from constantly banging on the side of the cells and now just resulted to lying down and growling at the Guard. "Whoever amassed these creatures has tremendous power. If they ever loosed these monsters in an area, it would be utter chaos….." He paused. "I'll lay down some traps so that they will not make it out alive." With that, he pulled out of his satchel, a scroll. Unfurling the scroll he knelt down and applied some chakra to one of the seals present resulting in a ***poof***, and a stack of explosive notes appeared. He went to place a seal on the side of the cell.

**"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH THEM!"** Boomed a snarling voice. Naruto jumped back, spreading out his senses, distinguishing where the voice had come from. He peered further into the darkness.

"Gaara." He said pointing to the back of the prison. "Shine the light over there." Gaara, now holding onto the torch, lifted the flame up illuminating the back wall.

Lying on the wall, was another of the creatures growling at the Guard and his cat. It glared at the two.

**"Step away from them!"** It growled. The voice had a feminine ring to it. Naruto looked at the beast. Spikes were embedded into her palms and feet, piercing the wall behind her. Chains attached to the wall held the beast even more firmly to the wall. Naruto could see that the chains were digging tightly into the beasts flesh, insomuch that blood could be seen dripping down the metal. Her fur looked to be a dirty silver color, Naruto guess from being in captivity. If Naruto had to guess, the Lycan, standing full height, would have to have been about 9ft tall. She had brown eyes that seem like they could pierce almost anything. Naruto started walking toward the feminine creature.

"You can talk?" He asked only getting a sneer from the beast.

**"Did you figure that out by yourself?"** She asked sarcastically, **"Big bad Guardsman is smart no?" **Normally, Naruto would have risen to her remark. But right now, he was more curious than anything.

"I was informed that beasts such as yourselves didn't have the capacity to form human speech patterns." He said before the wolf glared at the Guard.

**"That's because you're all a bunch of fucking morons!" **She growled. **"You stand here before me, calling us beasts and monsters when you were about to commit mass murder." **She sneered, **"From my view up here, you're the monster here."** Naruto stared at the crucified beast.

"Your kind decimate villages. They commit mass murder themselves." Naruto said slightly annoyed that was trying to defend himself from such a creature. "Hell, even when I first entered into this room, _your_ mindless kind tried to mall me and my friend here." The female lycan laughed cruelly.

**"Typical human." **She grunted, **"You don't even care about anything else except to kill us ****_monsters_****. You don't even know what the fuck is going on do you?" **Naruto continued to stare at her.

"What do you mean?" He asked. The lycan simply flicked her head up and motioned behind the boy.

**"Tell me ****_guard_****, do they look like mindless monsters to you now?" **She asked. Naruto looked around once more at the beasts….. Only to notice that their entire countenance had changed. They were gathered around each other, huddled together, as if they were trying to keep warm. Whimpering could be heard throughout the dungeon as both Naruto and Gaara looked on at the sight.

"Their eyes have changed." Gaara saw. Naruto looked closer.

"They're….. frightened?" He asked more to himself than anybody. The figure behind them growled.

**"Of course they're frightened human!" **She said, **"But since when have your kind care about us? When have you ever? You simply see us as demons because we're different than you! But what do you care? You're probably here just to kill us and be rise up in your disgusting human ranks!" **She spat at the blonde. Naruto stood there for a moment.

_'None of this makes any sense.'_ He thought looking at the caged beasts. _'The Guard taught that these creatures are just mindless bloodthirsty beasts, incapable of controlling their killing nature.'_ He looked around once again at the imprisoned beasts. _'This shouldn't be possible.'_ He turned back to the pinned Lycan.

"How are you able to talk?" He asked. The female glared at the guard.

**"Why the hell should I tell you?!" **She snapped. **"So you can go back to your precious guard and tell them that we're a little smarter than you thought. Hell no! I will not endanger my people any farther than your kind have already done!**"

Naruto sighed, "Then at least tell me what happened here." He said, "Who did this to you? And why are you all imprisoned like this?" The female snorted.

**"Not like we wanted to be here." **She said with a small frown on her face.

"What happened?" Naruto asked again. The female on the wall stared at the blonde for a minute before letting out a sigh.

**"There was an uprising in the clan." **She said dejectedly. Naruto's eyebrow rose.

"Clan?" He asked. The Lycan let out a laugh, but this time, it wasn't one out of contempt, but sadness.

**"You must think it strange don't you?" **She said, **"That monsters like us have clans. Out there, in the real world, we have no place in society. Only pain, death, and misery….. Is it so strange to think that we wanted to be around those that are just like us?"** She asked looking down at the prison floor. **"We're alone in this world. People look at us and they fear us. Even family looks at you differently after you have this type of blood running through your veins."** She looked up at the Guard. **"Do you know what that feels like? To love someone so much, only for that one thing to be torn away from you because of something you didn't want?"** Naruto's eyes shot wide open at the statement.

_'Demon!'_

_'Stay away from him. He's evil.'_

_'You're a monster! You're the reason why my daughter died!'_

Painful memories rose to the service of Naruto's mind as he listened to the female Lycan. **"We just wanted to be left alone in peace. That's why many of us came out here, to get away from everything." **She smiled briefly before snarling, **"But then that traitor turned on us. He turned on us all!"** She cried out struggling against her bonds, causing more blood to seep out of her wounds.

"Who?" Naruto asked. The female lycan looked down at the guard.

"**Lucius." **She said with venom. **"He's the reason why most of us are in here."** She sighed, **"Gavient was the Lycan responsible for gathering all of us together to live in harmony. He was a kind leader who wouldn't turn down anybody and help anyone in any way that he could…. Even if they weren't a lycan like us….. He would always welcome any creature that was in need of aid." **She said sadly as she remembered the fond memories.** "But there were also many who didn't agree with Gayient's philosophies. They said that it made us look weak and easy to prey on." **She growled, **"Then, a few months ago, more than half of the clan took arms against Gayient. Their leader Lucius, stood in the back and waited like the coward he was and waited for Gayient to tire out from the fighting. Even then he lost his right eye trying to take him down, but in the end….. Lucius was victorious." **She sighed once again.

**"After that, most of those who sided with Gayient lost their spirit. Since then, we've been locked down here, half starved, beaten and tortured."** Naruto noticed tears that had started to stream down the wolf-girls face. **"So what are you going to do now ****_guardsman?_****"** She sneered. **"You going to get you're precious council to come and deal with us? If you do, you better get the entire fucking army. A little girl like the one you just sent here isn't going to be any match for us."** Naruto's eyes widened.

"What little girl?!" Naruto said quickly. The Lycan only looked down at Naruto slight confusion on her face.

**"I assumed that was you're primary mission in the first place." **She said, **"That mage with the red hair. Come from one of those guilds….. Fairy Tail I think….."**

_'SHIT!'_ Thought Naruto, _'Why didn't the council say anything about that?!'_

"She's still alive?" Naruto asked urgently. The Lycan shrugged.

**"No idea." **She said, **"They dragged her out of here about 5 minutes before you got here." **Naruto snapped and turned on his heels and started walking towards the exit.

"What do we do about her?" Came the monotoned voice of Garra, who was still just staring up at the female Lycan. The female quirked her eyebrow at the talking cat. She had heard him speak before, but it was weird regardless to think that an ordinary house-cat could speak….. But who was she to say anything. She was half wolf.

Naruto turned and looked at the female on the wall. Her eyes portrayed no fear….. Just sadness. _'They're monsters….. That's what I was always told.'_ He thought.

_'Demon!'_

_'Die monster!'_

Naruto winced at the painful memories. _'…..Man…. I really am a hypocrite aren't I?' _He thought as he started walking towards the beast. Behind him he could here the rest of the beasts growling as he approached the one on the wall.

**"W-w-what are you doing?"** The girl asked as the blonde got closer to her. He stopped when he was about 2 feet away from the girl. **"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" **She howled struggling against her bonds, blood splattering over the Guards armor.

"Gaara." Naruto said, reaching up to take off his helmet. "Use your sand to support her from falling." Gaara nodded as Naruto took off his helmet, revealing his face to the lycan. Her eyes widened significantly.

**"A-a child?"** She whispered to herself as she looked at Naruto's face. Naruto seemingly ignored her as he took out one of his blades slashing the chains that held her bound, revealing deep wounds upon her body as the chains fell. Gaara's sand then came up and supported the girls body, so that the spikes in her hands and feet wouldn't tear.

The female stared in shock at what the blonde boy had done. He walked forward and examined the wounds on her hands and feet. "These are going to be a little more difficult." She heard him whisper to himself. He took out a small dagger, she then saw a faint blue light coat the blade before sliding it behind her paws, cutting the spikes clean through, causing her limbs to drop, one at a time.

Her body then slowly fell from the wall, but was still supported from the sand that apparently the cat used. She was laid down on her back as Naruto unfurled a scroll, using his chakra to unseal various medical supplies. By no means was he a professional doctor, but the guard taught him to how to patch himself or others up if the situation called for it….. Well enough anyways

The lycan stared at the boy, wincing slightly at some of the ointments that he was using. **"Who are you?"** She asked quietly. Naruto continued to keep working.

"Naruto Uzumaki." He said, before looking her in the eyes. "And you?" He asked respectfully.

**"…..Veralidaine Sarrasri…."** She muttered quietly getting the blonde to nod his head, before getting back to work. **"Why are you doing this?"** She asked.

"Why not?" Came the blondes reply, causing her eyes to widen slightly at the simple response. "You're absolutely right. I have never tried to get to know of your kind. Seeing you now, yes, you have been cursed…. But you have overcome that curse." The blonde stated, "Your curse represents evil, but you do not. How can I judge something in which is not evil." The blonde sighed. "You never asked for this curse to be placed upon you and yet you're judged for it. Judged for something in which I don't understand… What kind of monster would I be….. If I didn't take the time to understand your pain?" The blonde smiled at the girl. She stared up at the boy for a moment, her eyes misted for a moment.

**_'This boy….. What is he?'_** She thought as he continued with his work. Within a minute or so, the girl was patched up and bandages adorned her body.

"Now, free your people and get out of here." The blonde said putting back on his helmet as he and Gaara started walking to the exit. Enough time had been wasted here. He had to hurry and see if that Fairy Tail mage was still alive. "I'll deal with the rest of your clan." Veralidaine's eye's widened.

**"You can't!" **She cried out after the boy, wincing still at her wounds. **"A normal guard can't hope to match the power of a Lycan, let alone a boy! You'll need help!" ** She yelled, slightly fearful of the decision the teen was making.

"Well then…" The boy said still walking to the door, "It's a good thing then that I'm not a normal guard now isn't it?" He finished glancing back at the lycan on the floor, before both him and Garra exited the dungeon, heading back upstairs. Leaving behind a still stunned female along with her compatriots in the cells.

"Come on Gaara." Naruto said slightly more urgently. "My clone just dispelled and there seems to be something big going on in a part of the castle." Gaara nodded as the both of them started running back up the stairs.

* * *

_'Dammit!'_ Thought a fearful teenage girl in the middle of an arena. People lined in the stadium were cheering and laughing. Whistling and howling at the scantily clad girl in the middle of the arena. The girl was wearing her tattered armor that was so damaged that it barely clung to her voluptuous figure. Her hands and feet had shackles on them, so she couldn't extend her limbs any great distance. She looked up at the head of the arena and glared at the man who was responsible for this.

He looked down at her, grinning, showing off his impressive canines. He had short white hair, a massive scar ran down the side of his pale skinned face. His right eye no longer usable. He was a large, muscular man as well. 6'5" and wore a huge bear skinned coat. He was wearing black pants with large black buckle boots. He wore no shirt, that showed off his muscular body, along with many scars, showing his various battles that he had vanquished in the past. He stood up address the restless crowd.

"Brothers! Sisters!" He shouted out. "We have been oppressed for generations to our rights! No longer shall we, Lycans, just hide in the shadows like wounded puppies! We are the superior being to the humans. They should be the one's that cower in fear to us!" Cries of agreement rang out throughout the stadium. "Tonight, I give you a lap dog to the council whose responsible for the loss of so many of our brethren." He cried out pointing down at the woman in the arena. Many growls and snarls were heard from the audience. "This…. Is the mighty Titania Erza! Queen of the Fairies!" More booing and growls were heard as various objects were thrown down into the ring. "She is supposedly the strongest female mage in all of Magnolia, if not Fiore, but yet she is on her knees in front of us tonight! Let's show Miss Scarlet, what happens when you try to take on the a clan, with superior beings in it!" Cries of excitement rang throughout the arena. "Raise the gate!" Lucius shouted.

Erza looked straight in front of her as a steel gate slowly raised itself up from the wall. Erza's eyes widened as she saw the giant begin to leave from its shadow. Every step it took, she could feel the ground shake slightly under her. A hoofed foot came out into the light as the rest of its body did as well.

It stood over 12 feet tall. Upper body of a man, lower of a bull. It flexed its huge muscular body, veins popped out of its neck and arms at it gave out a large roar. Brown skin, large horns on its head. It had a gold ring that pierced its nose. It was wearing a loose loincloth that barley hid its enormous male anatomy.

"A-a-a minotaur…." Erza gasped out. She had heard of these creatures. Horrifying stories of women who fell prey upon these beast. This beast would rape her, and wouldn't stop until she was dead. Slowly, the teen stood up in her shackles.

"AND LET THE GAMES BEGIN!" Lucius roared out. The stadium erupted with enormous cheers. The bull-like creature took a whiff of the air, before honing in on the red head in front of him. Without warning the beast charged the girl, barely giving the girl enough time to dodge the oncoming beast.

The beast quickly turned again and charged another time. Erza continued dodging left and right the attacks of the oncoming bull.

_'I can't let him near me!' _She thought furiously. She looked down at her shackles, _'I need to get these things off of me. They're keeping me from using my magical power.'_ Her brow furrowed as she notice something else, _'No, they're also draining my magic energy as well!' _She dodged yet another time away from the charging mass of pure muscle.

* * *

Lucius sat calmly in his thrown above the arena, watching amusingly as the girl tried to get out of harms way from the beast.

"Arram I must say. I was skeptical at first, but it is quite handy to have an ex-Rune Knight here in my service." He said to the man at his left who was watching the sick spectacle in front of him with clenched fists. "You are definitely a huge asset to our pack." Lucius grinned wickedly as he watch the black haired man shake in anger. Lucius was no fool, he knew that he needed to have something besides just strength and numbers in order to take on various people, groups, organizations. Arram, was his first experiment. Kidnapping his wife and child, they trapped the ex-Rune Knight and marked him. Threatening to literally rip piece at a time, his child and wife in front of their eyes, he was forced into the service of this mad man.

Arram looked down at the arena with the struggling girl._ 'Please forgive me.' _He thought. There was nothing that could be done without endangering his family. He clenched his jaw as he thought of the fact that he could never be with them again. There would be no way that he could return to society. They would never accept him. Even with his wife and child out of harms way…. He could never be with them again….. He…. He was a monster.

Lucius grinned even wider as he saw the man start to drop into depression. Soon…. Things would turn his way. His little experiment worked. He would have to enlist more of these knights to his cause. Their little runes were quite effective as well as powerful. He laughed as he saw the girl in the arena finally get caught by his little pet. "Looks like the fun is just about to begin." He laughed cruelly.

* * *

"LET ME GO!" Shouted Erza and the beast had finally caught one of her legs and held her upside down. The girl tried to swing at the beast, but her strength had already left her. She was tired and exhausted from the runes that had been placed on her. The beast tore at what remained of her armor on her body exposing her flesh. "STOP IT!" She shouted as she continued to try to strike the monster.

Explosions then littered throughout the crowd of spectators causing everyone to look around in confusion. The Minotaur looked up, feeling the vibrations of the blast before 5 arrows lodged themselves into its head. The beast dropped the girl and fell to the side dead.

"W-what the?!..." The girl said, "EEEP!" The girl let out a shriek as an arm wrapped around her, lifting her up and dashing to the side of the arena. They were about to enter into the stands when….

***OMPH!***

Came the sound of the girl who had hit some kind of invisible barrier.

_'Shit!'_ Thought the Guard. _"What are runes doing here?!'_ With that, he carried the girl back down to the ground. Taking out his dagger, he slashed through the metal shackles on her wrists and ankles. Then grabbing a round pill from his pouch, forced the pill into the girls mouth.

"What are yo-?! Hmpfff!" Came her muffled replied as the pill was effectively shoved down her throat. ***cough cough* **"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" She cried out finally taking a look at what she supposed was to be her savior, but with that pill thing, she wasn't so sure anymore. She blinked slightly when she saw that it was a Royal Guardsman… And one from Griffon's Cove if the symbol on his shield meant anything.

"Your magic should be partially restored by now." The guard simply said. Erza noticed his voice was young. Then she registered what the Guard had said. She felt it. Her magic was replenishing rapidly. Standing up, light enveloped her for a moment before dying down, revealing her to be wearing a normal blue skirt and a white button down shirt.

"How did you?..." She asked before being interrupted by many howls. Both looked sharply in the stadium. All of the audience members were now changing right before their very eyes. Naruto could hear the cracking of bones as their figures were enlarged. Skin was replaced by fur as they grew. Their teeth elongated and became sharper. Naruto looked around slightly nervous at the shear number of them before sighing. This was going to be a bitch.

"I thought that they couldn't turn without the full moon?" He said quietly to his new companion. She just shook her head.

"Apparently, they have learned how to control their change by will alone." Naruto's eyes shot up in his helmet. "That one there." She said pointing to a man at the head of the stadium. "He is their leader, Lucius." She growled out as light enveloped her once again. When it died down, she had on armor that was golden and light bluish in color. The breastplate was decorated by golden trimmings, and had thin plates going up surrounding her neck. A band with two ribbons could be seen on the top of her head. Her hair was different as well, being tied up in a long braid. In her hand was a long spear, with a enormous blade and a decorated circle that resembled a shield that was attached to the shaft. This was also adorned with a large ribbon. Naruto slighty backed up as he saw what he thought were sparks of electricity coming from the girls form.

_'Holy shit. I think all women are scary!' _He thought as he saw her pissed face.

Lucius looked around inside the stadium. Body parts of _his_ pack were thrown about. Anger welled in his being as he looked on at how many had fallen before him. He looked down in the arena and saw only a Royal Guardsman next to his entertainment. _'A Guard?'_ He asked himself. _'One fucking Guardsman was able to take down more than half of my pack?!'_ Anger started to take control over him until he realized something. _'Wait…. If a guard is here, wouldn't his full regimen be here as well?!'_ Panicked, he looked around frantically. He wasn't sure if his pack could take on a battalion of these guys in the state that they were in. _'He must be a scout.'_ He surmised. _'If his regimen were with him, then they would have already attacked through the front door.'_ Grinning lightly, he looked at the remaining of his brethren. They had started to transform into their true forms. Anger once again welled up inside of the man.

"HOW DARE YOU!"Came a howl from the head of the stadium. "You've just sealed your death Guard! EVERYONE, KILL HIM!" He shouted as every werewolf plunged into the arena straight at the two. Erza looked back at the guard slightly nervous. What Royal Guardsmen lack in power, they made up in their numbers. Even though he was from Griffon's Cove, an officer at that, noticing his short sword, she was sure that he wouldn't be able to last against more than 1 or 2 of these creatures. She wasn't sure she could protect him either with these numbers. Hell, she would have trouble coming out alive here herself.

"Where is your regimen?" She asked quickly.

"You're looking at it." He replied dully.

_'Damn!' _She thought. Then the best she could hope for was that the Guard would be able to take care of himself then. She would do what she could, but she wasn't sure it that would be enough. "Well Guardsman, I hope your good with that sword of yours, cause here the come!" She cried out as she took her spear and slashed through two of her opponents. She lifted her spear and a magic circle appeared at the tip, firing a barrage of lightning at the oncoming monsters. Many were hit and howled in agony as the electricity course through their muscles, causing spasms and losing control over their movements.

_'Lightning?' _Naruto thought to himself as he pulled out his own sword and shield. _'It's sort of like the sword thingy that we fought against that one missing nin… Maybe-?!'_ His thoughts were cut off as he dodged a pair of teeth that were closing in on him. _'Fight now! Think later!'_

Naruto felt the madness of combat start to sear through his veins. He leaped and struck, hacked and thrust, stabbed and slashed like a flash of hot summer lightning. Limbs were shorn through his flying blade, Lycans went down before him like corn to a reaper.

Erza stared slightly at the Guard through the corner of her eye. _'Who is this guy?'_ She asked herself as she saw his sword get lodged in the flesh of another Lycan only to get stuck. The Guard quickly released his weapon and took out his mace just in time to strike another foe to the face, crushing their skull. _'Guards aren't supposed to be this good.'_ Slightly distracted, one of the Lycans found an opening in her guard and struck. Erza's eyes widened as she cursing herself for being distracted, braced herself for the slash. Only for a wall of sand to place itself before her, slowing down the strike, giving her enough time to jump away. Looking around for the spell caster, she saw a cat with wings flying in the air looking in her direction. She did notice the cat was panting slightly

"GAARA!" The Guard called out, "KEEP GIVING HER SUPPORT! CONDENSE YOUR SAND INTO SHARP POINTS AND STRIKE!" He cried, hoping to give the cat some sort of long ranged attack that would hold up. All he really saw the cat do was use his sand as either grabbing devices or whips. These things needed to be put down and fast. The cat was young and he needed to learn fast. Gaara simply nodded his head, no expression being shown on his face as the sand around him condensed into hardened bolts from a crossbow, before they fired out. Many of the sand bolts caught the Lycans in their legs and joints, causing many of them to fall. Others lodged deep in the skulls of the oncoming beasts.

Erza bristled slightly as the audacity of the Guard. She was Erza Scarlet. True, this was her first S-class mission, but S-class mages held power. Who was this Guard to tell his cat, to help her?! Her armor once again glowed. When the light died down, her large sword that hit the ground tip first rang throughout the arena. She was now dressed in a black armor that was covered in spikes. Her hair once again was different and styled in prominent spikes that pointed outwards in every direction. Her right eye was covered by her red hair and a devilish shadow obscured the upper part of her face. She growled out her annoyance as she launched herself at the beast, cutting through multiple enemies as she ran through the sea of them.

* * *

Lucius growled loudly as he looked at his pack being decimated before his eyes. One by one he watched as they got sliced and hacked falling before the two. _'What the hell is going on?!'_ He thought to himself. _'Even with her shackles off, she should've been out of magic!'_ He then stared at the Guardsman who had now forgone his mace and changed it with a spear, thrusting through the skull of another of his brothers, before retracting it, twirling it around, defending himself from oncoming attacks. _'A normal human can't be this strong! What the hell is he?!' _The guardsman's reflexes were lightning quick. Not a single movement was wasted when he attacked or defended.

Knuckles cracked in Lucius's hand as his appendages began to grow. Growling ferociously, his muscles began to bulged as his body began to take on a new form. Silver fur, sprouted from his skin as he let out a howl as he finished his transformation. Now he stood 12ft tall, his eyes were glowing red out of anger. He flashed out of site only to find his body slammed against an invisible force.

**"WHAT THE HELL?!" ** He yelled out before looking at the writing in front of him.

_'__**Rule:**__ Leaving this enchantment is forbidden until one or other occupants is killed.'_

**"Did you forget about lil ol me?"** Lucius snapped his head over towards the voice, only for his eyes to widen in shock.

**"You…."** He said disbelieving. There in front of his stood a 11ft brown lycan in front of him. His eyes were glowing white as he bared his fangs at Lucius. In his hand was a long light blue staff….. One that the Rune Knights specifically used. **"Impossible." **He said disbelieving. **"No one has ever mastered their transformation this fast!" **Arram grinned wickedly.

**"Did you honestly think that I would just sit back and be your little lap dog indefinitely.**" He said. **"You're a powerful Lycan Lucius. I knew that even I would struggle trying to fight you with just my runes so…."** He spread his newly formed arms in display for Lucius to see. **"Now you see that I have the power from both our worlds."** He face then morphed into a snarl. **"I've been waiting and biding my time to find an opportunity to kill you. With those two taking care of the rest of your pathetic pack, now it's just the two of us."** Lucius growled.

**"You are one of us!"** He said, **"You are no longer human. Your wife and child won't ever accept you back into their lives. You are a monster to them. ****_WE_****, are your only family now. Only ****_we _****know what kind of pain the world has placed on us. ****_WE _****are the only people who will accept you for who you are. Why do you fight against your family?!" **Cried out Lucius.

**"YOU ARE NOT MY FAMILY!"** Arram cried out. **"I know that I have been cursed forever… But I still love my wife and child with all my heart. If they are free and happy….. Then what more could I ask for…" **He whispered to himself. Lucius just stared in shock at what the lycan was saying before he started to laugh uproariously.

**"HAHAHA! Free?! Happy?!" **He mocked, **"All your wife and child will know is pain and misery after I am through with them. You selfish monster. I gave you a gift and this is how you repay me. I'll make sure to return in it full tonight when your wife moans out my name in ecstasy." **He sneered only for second to gasp out as his body plunged into the stone wall. Blood flew from his mouth as he tried catching his breath.

**"Get up now." **Was all he heard before looking up into the white eyes of the ex-Rune Knight Lycan.

* * *

"How are you holding up?" Panted Naruto as he lashed out another thrust with his spear, injuring another lycan.

"I'm fine, worry about yourself." She panted out as well slicing through the flesh of another beast. Her magic was depleting once again and there were still so many that were left. She winced slightly as one of her muscles in her leg spasmed for a moment. Enough time for 2 of the beast to launch themselves at her. Erza cursed again as she tried to move her arms to block the oncoming monsters, then a shield came in out of nowhere smashing into the skull of one of the beasts, cracking his head so hard, the force of the blow broke his neck. The recoil of the strike sent the shield back to the Guardsmans' hand. Simultaneously, bolts of sand rained down on the other beast piercing various organs throughout its body. Erza looked quickly at the cat again before whipping her head around to the guard.

He merely gave her a slight nod before taking his now free hand and unsheathed his short sword and came back to back with the girl.

"….Thanks for that…." She muttered, barely enough for him to hear.

"Thank me later, we still have a battle to win." He said as they both launched their attacks. Both were flailing like a windmill, up, down, across, over, the adrenaline of combat rushed through their beings. Back to back they fought, turning a ferocious circle, spearing and slashing like a carousel of doom.

* * *

**1 Hour Later:**

Both warriors were panting heavily as they stared at the vast sea of Lycans that lay dead before them. Both had many chunks of their armor missing. All of Naruto's right arm armor was gone, and blood had been dripping from his various injuries. Half of his helmet had been missing as well revealing the upper right side of his face. He thanked the heavens he was wearing his helmet when that one beast had gotten through his guard and tried to bite his head off, only to bite off a portion of his helmet.

Erza was looking no better. Scratches and cuts adorned her body as well. Many pieces of armor were leaving the girl in quite a revealing state. She bent over, hands on her knees and greedily sucked in oxygen to her lungs.

Naruto looked up at her. "You're quite good." He panted. She looked up at him noticing his blonde hair and blue eye for a brief moment before smirking.

"You're not so bad yourself… Warrant Officer." She said cheekily only for Naruto to chuckle for a moment before standing up straight.

"Unfortunately our work isn't done." He said seriously. He reached up and took off what was left of his helmet, revealing his entire face. Erza blinked for a moment staring at the teen.

_'He's younger than me?'_ She thought looking the 14 year old over. _'He's just in the Royal Guard. How is he so strong?... And he's an officer?!' _ She continued staring at the boy for a little while longer until he turned his head and cocked an eyebrow at her.

"You ok there?" He asked. Erza just flushed, embarrassed that she had been caught staring at the younger boy.

"You're right." She coughed in her hand and pretended like nothing ever happened. Naruto cocked his other eyebrow in confusion before just letting the issue go. "We still need to deal with _Lucius_!" She growled out with a bit of venom in her voice.

***CRASH!***

Both warriors looked up to the head of the arena and stared in shock as a headless Lycan fell through what looked to be like a magic barrier. An object went flying in the opposite direction, on the other side of the arena. Both watched as both objects hit the ground. Naruto gazed onto the smaller object…. It was the head of a silver wolf. Looking back up he saw a brown Lycan standing there, leaning on a staff. He was panting heavily, cuts and open wounds adorned his body. Soon the large Lycan began to shrink in size until he was the size of a man. The man let out a weak grin as he toppled over dropping his staff.

In an instant, Naruto was running towards the fallen man, taking a large jump, he headed into the head of the arena. Erza stared for a moment at the impossible feat that the blonde had just done for a normal human, until registering the situation and she herself headed for the man. When she got into the chamber, she already saw that the blonde had out some medical supplies and was treating the man. She stared down at the ex-Rune Knight watching the blonde carefully wrap up the man in bandages.

"W-what are you doing?" She asked hesitantly.

"Helping this man." Naruto said without even looking up at the girl.

"Why?' Erza asked looking down at his neck. "He's been cursed. He needs to be put down before he can infect anyone else!" She said with mild urgency. Naruto's hands slowed down slightly before looking the man in the eyes.

"…..No." He said looking back at Erza. "He has been cursed, but they can control that curse." Erza's eye's widened slightly.

"You must be joking?!" She said loudly. "You and I both know that when they turn they can't control their mark!" She pointed at the blonde. "It's your duty as a Guard to rid this world of monsters such as these!"

"And does he look like a monster to you?!" Naruto shouted back surprising the red-head who took a step back slightly startled by the blondes shout. Naruto briefly recounted his own time of realization not so long ago with another one of these Lycans. He looked down at the man in front of him. "Why did you help us?" He asked the man who was staring at the both of them in both fear and confusion. The man was breathing heavily, sweat and blood dripping from his face from exhaustion and his injuries.

"H-he h-has my wife and my child in prison here." He panted out. "They came one night to our house while I was out on patrol and took them." He said with tears in his eyes. "They left a note saying to come alone and if I told anybody…. I would receive my family back piece by piece." He turned his head and clenched his teeth. "They ambushed me and marked me….. Because I was a Rune Knight… They wanted to use my abilities to enhance their own….. To give them an edge over the organized government…." He looked back up at the blonde, tears were now falling freely down his face. "I never wanted to hurt anybody….. But my wife and my child… They are all I have left in this world! I understand if you must exterminate me, but please…. I beg of you…. Let me see them one last time before you do." Naruto looked down at the pleading man next to him before raising his gaze back to Erza's who had softened her gaze considerably.

"What truly makes a monster?" The blonde said quietly, but enough for the girl to hear. "….. What makes and monster?... And what makes a man?" He said putting a hand on his stomach. "We spend our whole lives believing in one thing when in reality, we really know nothing until we find out for ourselves…." He looked up to Erza, "I….. I want to put my faith in them….." He said, getting Erza's eyes to widen significantly. "All we know about them is from what rumors had spread across the land….. We really don't know them….. I don't think they are evil….." He said quietly.

"But rumors have hints of truth the them as well." Erza pointed out. "It has been documented that these beasts have demolished entire villages."

"It has also been documented that men have utterly demolished entire nations." He said getting a look of surprise from the girl. "Does that mean that we're just monsters like them?" Erza's eyes widened again before she closed them slightly and nodded in understanding. "If we give them a chance, I do believe that we can achieve peace with them."

"Do you truly mean that Naruto Uzumaki?" A new voice came from the entrance of the room. Both heads whipped towards the sound of the voice, which revealed to be a woman in her early twenties standing in the doorway. She was thin and had a fair complexion. She was wearing rags that barely covered her very curvy figure. Her white hair was slightly messy and her purple eyes were piercing those of Naruto's. Naruto looked down and saw her hands and feet wrapped in bandages. Recognition formed across his face.

"You're…" He started only to be interrupted again.

"Do you truly mean what you say Uzumaki-san?" He said seriously. "Do you truly wish to know us and achieve peace with us?" Her eyes scanned the blondes intensely looking for any form of deceit. Naruto kept looking at the woman for a minute before sighing.

"If I didn't mean what I had said, I would have never freed you from that dungeon." He said truthfully. "I forgot what it was like to be on the receiving end of something that you didn't ask for." Naruto looked down slightly ashamed before looking back up at the woman, fire in his eyes. The woman's eyes slightly widened at the resolve that she saw. "I promise that I will do everything in my power, to make sure that true peace will be achieved." Everyone in the room stared at the blonde for a moment before the woman let out a soft chuckle and started walking over to the boy.

"Very well then Uzumaki-san." She said as she stood extremely close in front of the boy. He blushed a bright red as her massive cleavage directly in his face, being quite taller than him. She chuckled again at his reaction. "We shall hold you to that promise of yours." She said before grabbing him by his armored collar and hoisting him in the air only for her lips crashed fiercely against his causing his eyes to open like dinner plates. Erza's jaw dropped to the floor as she blushed red as she saw the woman shove her tongue down the blonds throat. This went on for about thirty seconds before the blonde let out a muffled yelp in the woman's mouth startling Erza.

"You freakin bit my tongue!" The blonde pointed an accusing finger at the woman who was merely licking her lips as she savored the taste of the blonde. Naruto was furiously rubbing his tongue trying to soothe the pain.

"I have your scent now." She said simply causing the blonde to stop what he was doing an look at the woman in confusion. "I told you that I would hold you to your promise Naruto-chan." She said in a teasing manner. "Now, no matter where you go, I will be able to track you. If you don't keep your promise Uzumaki, I will make sure that you do." She said seriously. Naruto stared at the woman for a moment before letting out his own foxy grin.

"If that's all then you have nothing to worry about." He said looking at her. "Because I always keep my promises. That is my way of the Guard." He grinned, causing the rest of the people in the room to smile warmly at the strange Guardsman.

_'This guy…..'_ Erza thought. _'What kind of Guard is he?' _She had met a lot of Guardsmen over the years. From her experiences they were boastful and arrogant in her opinion. Many looked down on mages and their guilds until real trouble came in and she noticed a few times where Guardsmen would cower in fear. But this one was different. He fought side by side with her. No fear coursed throughout the blonde during their entire fight. Indeed, what kind of Guardsman was he?

"By the way." Naruto said, "Did you really need to bite my tongue to get my scent?" He asked. The woman just gave him a coy grin.

"Of course not!" She chirped giving him a bright smile before letting out a lustful grin. "But I thought that you wouldn't mind a little action on the side now wouldn't you?" She asked as she pressed her face against his and started rubbing her body on him. Naruto turned bright red as he struggled to get away from the woman who appeared to be in heat. "Don't tell me that was you're first kiss?" She asked only to receive a mumbled reply from the blonde. "Kawaii! You are just too cute!" Naruto was flabbergasted at the 180 degree turn around that this woman was showing.

Erza was silently staring at the interaction between the two. "Can someone say shota-con?" She said quietly, but the woman's sharp ears picked up the words.

"What was that bitch?!" She cried out getting in Erza's face growling at her. Erza's eyes narrowed at the woman.

"You heard me you old wench!" Erza growled.

"Old?! You're only like a few years younger than me little girl!" The two butted heads as lightning crackled between the two. Naruto let out a light shudder in fear as he watched the two tried to set the other on fire with their eyes.

"Unfortunately." Came the voice of man on the ground, getting everyone's attention. "It's not going to be as easy of you might think it to be." He said with a small sigh.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked. The man sighed again.

"I was recently marked." He said sadly, "I was a part of the Rune Knights for many years. I know how they think of monsters and Lycans like us. You should too Uzumaki-san. You're a member of the Royal Guard. In fact, I heard of your exploits right before I got marked." He said getting looks from the female occupants in the room. "You know exactly how monsters and demons are treated by both councils. It's not going to be easy to convince the way that these people think. In fact, if they knew that Lycans could control their transformation by will and talk….. I don't know what measures the councils would take to exterminate every last one." Silence permeated throughout the room as the words of the man registered through there heads.

"…..I don't care." Naruto said stubbornly getting everyone to look at him. "I don't care how long it takes. I will make sure that there is peace between us. Even if I have to change the way the council thinks myself." He grinned fiercely at the three. "I never go back on my word. I already told you. That's my way of the Guard!" He cried out giving his best Gai-sensei pose. Once again, shocked stares were the only responses he received.

"…..You're a strange one aren't you Uzumaki-san." Erza chuckled as Naruto sheepishly put his hand behind his head.

"What will you do in the meantime?" Came a monotoned voice getting everyone's attention as they turned to the speaker. Gaara walked up to them and look at the two Lycans in the room. "What do you plan to do now?" He asked getting Erza's curiousity peaked again.

_'Another talking cat?' _She thought.

"I don't know." Arram sighed. "As long as my wife and daughter are safe, I don't care really what happens."

"You could stay with the rest of the Lycans." Naruto suggested. Erza looked at the blonde.

"Other Lycans?" She asked confused. Naruto nodded.

"Yea. There were a lot of them who were imprisoned here in the dungeon." He pointed to the woman next to him. "She's a Lycan. Her name is Veralidaine Sarrasri." Erza took a step back in apprehension.

_'There are more of them?'_ She thought to herself. Veralidaine's eyes fell a little as she saw the reaction of the red head. Erza noticed this and slightly admonished herself. Steeling herself she held out her hand to the woman.

"My name is Erza Scarlet." She said with a small smile. "It's nice to meet you Veralidaine Sarrasri." The woman looked shocked for a moment staring back at the girl before smiling and taking the extended hand into her own.

"You still haven't answered my question though." They looked down to the cat who had spoken earlier and noticed that his right eyebrow was twitching from annoyance from being ignored. "What are you and your people going to do now?" The woman scratched her head for a moment thinking.

"Well…. We could just stay here couldn't we?" She asked.

"I don't know if you can." Erza said. "There have been reported disappearances here over the past few months. Even mentions of strong demons roaming the mountains. That's why I'm here. An S-class request was sent to our guild this last week and I decided to take it….. I have to report back and make sure that the situation was cleared….. If I don't, then the mission will just be repeated by another mage or guild." Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"Wait." He said, "You mean to tell me that this mission was already sent to the neighboring guilds?" He asked getting a nod in return. "Then why the hell was I sent here?!" He cried out. Erza looked slightly confused.

"I kind of wondered that myself." She admitted. "It's rare to see a guard up in these parts, but even more rare to find one from Griffon's Cove." Both Veralidaine and Arram stared at the blonde slightly. Even they had heard of the guards that had come from that fortress. Their tactics and skills held down the most impenetrable fortress in all of Fiore. Naruto shrugged. Arram had heard of Naruto's exploits from before, but he didn't know that he was from Griffon's Cove.

"I have no idea." He said. "All I know is that one day I'm on normal guard duty, the next the Magic Council shows up at our gates telling me they want me to do this mission." Erza's looked at him in surprise.

"The Magic Council?" She asked as the blonde nodded. "But they had already handed this mission out to various guilds….. Why would they do that?" She asked. Naruto just shrugged.

"Beats me." He said, "That's what I want to know."

"…..It is possible," Arram started, "That it was meant to be some sort of test for you." He looked up at the blonde. "The council also came to me with a small test of sorts to see if I would make a good addition to the Rune Knight…." He paused, "But a mission to this extent, I've never heard of it." He said pondering what the council could have been up to. Naruto just nodded his head in agreement.

"Well… They did want me to join the Rune Knights." He said surprising everyone. "But I turned them down." Arram's eyes widened in shock.

"B-but why would you do that?!" He asked, "Do you know how many people strive to get into the Rune Knights?!" He half asked half cried out. Even both Veralidaine andErza stared at the boy in shock. Naruto just nodded his head.

"I know exactly how difficult it is." He said. "But I'm a Guard through and through. Nothing is going to change that. Griffon's Cove is my home and I will die to defend it." He finished with a seriousness in his voice, slightly stunning the rest of the group. Erza smiled at the boys claim. She understood where he was coming from and her respect for him rose to a greater level.

"But it still doesn't make sense why they would send you." Arram muttered thinking for a moment before his eyes widened significantly in shock. He turned his head quickly to the boy who stepped back in slight alarm at the mans strange behavior. "I-it couldn't be….." He mumbled, but enough for everyone to hear. "Y-you're way too young for that….." Naruto cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"Too young for what?" He asked curiously. Both Veralidaine and Erza looked at the man also confusion evident on their faces. Erza's eyes shot open just slightly as she realized what the man could have been thinking.

_'But I've never heard of one so young.'_ She thought as she too stared at the boy unnerving him.

"….Alright! You guys are freaking me out! Just tell me what's going on?!" He said half annoyed that they just stared at him like some sort of attraction.

"…..Nevermind about that now." Arram dodged the question. "I think I may have thought of a way that the rest of the Lycans could stay here." He said getting everyone's attention.

"How?" Veralidaine asked curious/excited. This fortress really would be an ideal place to continue to lay low if they could make it happen. Arram simply pointed to the corpses of the already slain Lycan…. And Minotaur.

"Take them back to the council as evidence that we have all been slain." He looked at Erza, "They'll believe Erza Scarlet if she says that she had eradicated all of the demons." He said a little bitterly. "With her word, they probably won't even send out a scout to verify the information." Naruto looked at him, then at Erza.

"What do you think?" He asked. "It does sound like a good plan." Erza thought about it for a moment, trying to work out the details in her head. It was still a risky plan though, not only to slightly fabricate part of the truth to the council, but also to leave the Lycans there in the first place…. Accidents do happen after all…

Seeing her confliction Arram spoke up. "I am also willing to stay here and do what I can to help the Lycans here." He said shocking the others. "If it's alright with you Sarrasri-san, my runes can be used quite effectively to hide and obscure us." Veralidaine just stared at the man for a moment before putting on a warm smile.

"Of course you may stay with us." She said, "You're skills and experience will help us to become a better people." Arram nodded slightly.

"Very well." Erza finally said. "Uzumaki-san and I will bring the bodies to the council and convince them that you all perished." She said causing the others to smile.

"Alright." Naruto said stretching his slightly tight muscles. "Come on guys….. We got a lot of bodies to load up here." With that the 5 got up and started making their way down to the arena floor.

* * *

Both Erza and Naruto waved farewell as they both departed back into the snow. Howls and shouts of farewell came from the remaining Lycans outside of their fortress. Arram's wife and daughter were there as well waving goodbye. It was a heartfelt reunion as the family came together once again in loving embrace. After much discussion, it was decided that his family didn't care that he had turned into a monster at all. They were happy just to be with him, so they decided to stay in the fortress with him and the other Lycans. Arram tried to convince his wife not to…. That she should be able to live a normal life. But then she told him that when she fell in love with him, she fell in love with everything about him….. Even his problems. It was a tearful reunion for everyone as they watched the family embrace themselves, tears running down their faces.

Arram was kind enough to create a rune….. well more of a storage lacrima where all of the bodies of the slain Lycans and Minotaur could be placed within. Naruto briefly looked at the round object thinking that it basically worked exactly like his sealing scrolls.

Before the two set out, Veralidaine grabbed Naruto once again and shoved her tongue down his throat, causing him the flap his arms widely as the need for oxygen became more required for him. The woman was knocked back by an annoyed Erza Scarlet as the two then started yelling at each other. One about being a shota-con, the other about being a prude.

Gaara on the other hand was being annoy by many of the other wolf-like creatures from the dungeons. Something about them wanting to chase a cat around. He simply used his magic to hover around in the air while many of them sat on the ground wagging their tails waiting impatiently for the little kitty to come down.

Finally Naruto, Erza, and Gaara waved their last goodbye as the castle disappeared from their view and they continued on their way. They agreed that they both should head to the capital in Crocus to deliver their report. Naruto because it was the Magic Council that had assigned him the mission in the first place, and Erza, just to make sure that the council was convinced of everything that happened.

"Whew!" Naruto sighed as he sat back in the carriage that he had used to get as close as he could to Mt. Hakobe. "That was one hell of a mission wasn't it?" He asked his traveling companions. Erza just let out a small chuckle.

"That was my first S-class mission." She said, "If you hadn't been there….. Then I could've been…" She paused as she started to recall past events and things that could have happened. Naruto looked at her and frowned slightly at her change in demeanor.

"What are you talking about?" He asked getting her to look back at him. "Did you see how badass you were?!' He said excitingly surprising the girl even more. "Man! The different armors that you used and then you used that lightning spear or something! You were like ZAP!" He said excitingly as he tried to mimic her movements that she made with her weapons.

Erza just stared at the blonde who was acting exactly like a child who just saw magic for the first time in their life. Then she placed a hand over her mouth and let out a giggle. Naruto looked at her and smiled. "Then you changed into that awesome looking armor with that big ass sword and you were just like WAAAHH!" He cried out doing some ridiculous poses as if he were about to fight enemies. Erza couldn't handle it anymore and started to laugh out loud joyously at the blonde. She couldn't help it. Who was this Guard? One minute he was a serious warrior, then next, he was like a child. To be honest, he seemed a lot like a certain dragon slayer that she knew….. Just not as destructive….. or a pyro.

Once she calmed down, she saw that Naruto was just grinning at her. "You see." He said, "You should laugh and smile more. We're here now to enjoy these moments aren't we?" He asked as Erza smiled warmly at the blonde as she nodded her head.

"You truly are an interesting person Uzumaki-san." She said.

"Erza-chan please." He said getting a slight surprised look from the girl. She wasn't used to being called with such familiarity…. Even by her peers. "After all that hell that we went through, just call me Naruto." He said pointing to himself. "After that ordeal, I trust you with my life." He said smiling. Erza blushed slightly at the boys' statement. She then smiled and looked down.

"Alright then….. Naruto…. -kun." She said softly as he grinned back at her. "You are really an interesting person though." She said getting him to look at her in confusion.

"No." Came the monotoned voice to his right. "He's a complete idiot." Gaara said. "By the time you reach the capital with us, you too will realize that he is a baka."

"WHAT WAS THAT YOU UNGRATEFUL CAT?!" Naruto yelled out as he tried to strangle the little cat, only for sand to come up and block his every attempt. "Arrrgggg!" he cried out, "Just you wait. You're magic isn't that strong yet and you'll run out eventually. As soon as you do, I'm gonna kick your ass so hard!….." He started yelling and screaming as he continually tried to pulverize the cat behind the sand. Erza just stared at the two for a moment before letting out another joyous laugh at the antics of the two in front of her. She could tell that she was really going to enjoy this trip.

* * *

"Well well." A graying man said as two groups began to congregate around a table. "It has been quite some time since we all convened together now hasn't it?" He chuckled bitterly.

"It can't be helped." Another said from the other side, "The King's orders and absolute. This is a hearing for a knighthood. Both parties must unanimously vote in favor of the selected candidate and according to his actions and accomplishments in which they have achieved." A bald man wearing a funny hat and had a mustache said.

"We know the law already _Councilman_." Growled out another man who was wearing full armor. "We don't need you telling us about it."

"Now now gentlemen." Came a light voice of a blue haired man with a strange insignia over his right eye. "There's no need for arguments. We are here on a special occasion. To see if this young man is worthy of this honorary title. Let's not tarnish both of our names in front of him just so we can get in a few strikes here and there." He said.

"I agree with the councilman here." Came a fair voice of a beautiful brunette. "We are the leaders of this generation. Let's start by acting so." Grumbles could be heard from both sides as they seated themselves down in their chairs as they awaited the young man that they were expecting.

"Knight-Commander Duncan." Came the voice from the mustached man, "This is your boy we're evaluating isn't that right?" He asked. The Knight-Commander sighed.

"Yes he is Yajima-san." He admitted.

"You must be awfully proud of him then." Yajima said.

"You have no idea." Duncan whispered as he nodded. He was worried for his boy though. Depending on his performance though, would determine what hardships lie ahead of the young man.

Just then the doors to the chamber opened as two individuals and a cat came into the room. Both councils were slightly surprised to see one of the individuals with the young man, but decided to let it rest until everything was sorted out.

Both Naruto and Erza walked up in front of the Councils and stopped at a podium in front of them and looked up at their superiors. Erza's eyes widened slightly.

_'Why are the Court of Justice's Royal Council here along with the Magic Council?'_ She thought. Remembering a previous memory her eyes softened slightly as she glanced at the Guard right next to her. _'I guess it is true then.' _ She thought as she let out a smile happy for the blonde.

"Naruto Uzumaki Numair." Duncan's voiced boomed out. Erza's eyes widened again.

_'Numair?!'_ She thought glancing at the boy again who hadn't stopped looking at the councils.

"You are here to report and explain the details of the mission that was assigned to you by Councilwoman Milkovich." He said, "But first, we as the councils would like to know why S-Class Mage, Erza Scarlet, of the Magical Guild Fairy Tail, is here as well." Naruto nodded and for the next hour, began to explain everything that had happened as soon as he had reached Mt. Hakobe. When he was finished both councils stared at the Guard.

"Impossible!" Came the voice of an older blonde woman from the Magic Council. "We would have detected something like this if something of this scale were to happen." Other agreements came from different councilmember's.

"Also. You? Save Titania?!" Came another shout from another member. "Preposterous! There is no way a simple _guardsman _could even hope to take down a beast such as that! Let alone many of them!" Yells across the table were made at the blatant claim.

"You want to Leiji-san!" One of the armored Court of Justice's council members stood up with his hand on the hilt of his blade. Bickering between the two councils broke out and for several moments shouting, yelling, and cursing occurred on both sides. The only two members who were not arguing, but instead analyzing the young guard was Duncan and another older mage who had slightly pointed ears. One of his eyes were closed and he had a large gray beard covering his face. This mages name was Org.

"ENOUGH!/SILENCE!" Both men shouted simultaneously. One slamming his fist down on the table in front of him, smashing a large chunk out of the wood. The other bringing his staff down to the ground, emitting a huge aura of magical power around him. Both parties of the council were silenced by their respected superior. Duncan looked over to the mage, Org, who simply nodded his head for him to continue.

"Quit acting like children all of you!" He said. "You are the leaders of this great nation. Put your grudges aside and act as adults for once!" He looked down at Erza who had remained silent throughout the entire discussion. "Fairy Tail's Erza Scarlet." He said getting her to look up at him. "Do you concur with the report that Guardsmen Uzumaki Numair has given?" He asked serious. Erza nodded her head.

"I do Knight-Commander." She said, "For both Numair's courage and bravery. I would disagree to which he explained his role in defeating the Lycans." She said getting a few smirks from the Magic Council. "He underplayed it entirely….. He swordsmanship is as good if not greater than my own. If we battled, and I didn't have my different armors or magic ability, I am almost certain that I would fall by Numair's hand." Most of the council on both sides were shocked to hear this. "If Numair-san were not present at that moment, I would not be here today. Even after he freed me, there were different times where he actually stepped in to defend myself from receiving even more injuries." The councils were silent before she held up a round lacrima. "As for proof of the beasts existence." The lacrima glowed as many of the bodies of the Lycans and Minotaur came out of it, startling the councils. "I believe that this is proof enough for you." She finished, with a slight smirk on her face.

The councils were just silent as they gazed at the massive amounts of the bodies.

"I-i-impossible." A member said. "There are so many." Murmurs started to go around the chamber as both Naruto and Erza waited for the Councils to say something to them.

"Very well." Org said, "We will discuss this further. The both of you will wait for this council to reconvene in an hours times. Dismissed." Both Naruto and Erza nodded as they walked out of the chamber.

* * *

"You never said anything about being the Knight-Commander's son." Erza said as they were walking through the gardens of the capital, waiting for council to reach their decision. Naruto just shrugged.

"You never asked?" He said with a small grin.

"But you still introduced yourself as Naruto Uzumaki instead of Numair…. Why is that?" She asked. Naruto walked by her silently for a moment.

"My father is a great man." He said. Erza almost snorted at that. She didn't think that there was a person in Fiore who hadn't heard of Knight-Commander Numair's bravery. Much of which happened in the war in the north. "I love my father very much." Naruto continued. "But I don't want people to treat me any differently just because I am his son." Erza stayed silent but listened intently to the boy. "I want to earn the peoples respect because of who I am….. Not just because of who my father is." Erza just nodded at the blondes statement thinking of a certain blonde mage that was in her own guild. Naruto then sighed as he brought up both hands behind his head.

"But in the end I guess it doesn't matter." He said slightly confusing the girl. He cocked her a grin. "As long as I can protect my precious people, that's really the only thing that matters to me." He smiled at the girl who in return smiled back.

"That's quite the positive thinking that you have there Naruto-kun." A voice came from behind them, causing both of them to jump slightly. Looking back they saw that it was Ultear who had her arms crossed underneath her impressive bust. "I hope that I am one of those people in that category Na-ru-to-kun." She said slowly as she walked up to the blonde and placed her hand along his cheek bringing her face close to his own getting the blonde to turn a bright red and begin to stutter incoherently.

Erza for her part was shocked that someone from the Magic Council was behaving in such a lucrative way before Erza herself became slightly annoyed. "Aren't you supposed to be with the other councilmember's discussing our assignment?" She asked with a slight edge to her voice. Ultear stopped her ministrations on the blondes face looking over at the red-head with amusement in her eyes.

"Thought-projection sweetie." She said innocently, "They're all in there arguing most of the time between themselves, not even really about the report in itself." She laughed slightly as she brushed her hair to the side with her hand before turning back to Naruto who had just regained some control over his blush.

"So Naruto-kun." She said seductively slightly licking her lips. Erza let out a small growl. "How would you like to come to my private chambers after the council has reached a decision?" She leaned over and breathed into his ear. "I'll make sure it's worth your while." She grinned as she saw the young Guard shudder from her actions. Erza was about to intervene when another voice popped in.

"I didn't know that Numair-kun interested you that much Ultear-san." Ultear looked towards the voice in slight annoyance as she was forced to cease her fun with Naruto. Erza's eyes widened at she saw who had just spoken. He was wearing a white suit. His hair was blue and spiky, and there was a strange looking mark that adorned his right eye.

_'Siegrain.'_ Erza thought.

"Just trying to keep myself entertained as the old timers bicker among themselves Siegrain." She said a little bothered. Siegrain just smiled lightly before turning to Naruto.

"I must say Numair-san, that was quite the impressive report that you gave in there." He said with a smile. "Erza Scarlet is not one to hand out complements lightly." Erza's eyes narrowed at the man.

"There were no compliments to be given because everything that I said in there was true." She said slightly bitter. Naruto raised his eyebrow at the girls tone of voice before slightly shrugging it off. Apparently it hadn't effected Siegrain in the slightest who only smiled.

"Well then, I'm glad to know that we have such a prominent Guard rising in the ranks. But unfortunately our little conversation must come to a close, for the councils have now asked for the both of you." He said disappearing from view. Ultear huffed before smiling at Naruto.

"Remember my offer Naruto-kun." She said with a wink before she too disappeared. Naruto slightly gulped as Erza had a tickmark form upon her head.

"Come on." She growled out as she grabbed Naruto's arms dragging a confused blonde behind her.

* * *

As both Naruto and Erza entered into the chamber, they noticed that the councils were no longer sitting down in their seats. Instead, they were gathered around in a circle. The Council to the Court of Justice on the inside, the Magic Council on the outside. Both Duncan and Org though were at the head of the circle.

"Naruto Uzumaki Numair." Duncan said getting the blonde to stand a little straighter. "Come forth." He beckoned the blonde into the center of the circle. Naruto, with a confused look on his face walked into the circle. "Kneel Gaurdsman Numair." Duncan said. Naruto obediently obeyed.

"Gaurdsman Numair. Due to your courage and bravery, in performing admirably in your duties as a Guard and in the battlefield. We the councils of both magic and defense, under the authority of the King himself, deem you worthy of the title Knight, to the King of Fiore." Naruto's eyes shot up into his hairline as he listened to his father. Org then stepped forth and tapped his staff on the ground, creating a magic circle underneath him, along with the rest of the Magic Council members.

"By the Authority of the Magic Council, we deem you, Naruto Uzumaki Numair, worthy of the title of Knight. To serve your King and your nation from hence forth." He tapped his staff on the ground again. This time a magic circle appeared above the blonde. "We extend this blessing upon you as you continue your journey in service to the nation. We bless you with health, that you might be able to withstand the harshest of sickness." He tapped his staff again. "We bless you with power, that you might overcome any hardships that stand in your way." He tapped his staff again. "We bless you with intellect, that you might be a future leader for the upcoming generation and guide them in the way of the light." He tapped his staff once more. "And finally, we bless you with heart, that you might always have the courage to do what you know is right in the face of danger." Org stepped back as Duncan and the other Council to the Royal Guard stepped forward unsheathing their swords.

"By the authority of the King of Fiore, and as Knight-Commander and leaders to the Knights of Fiore, I, Duncan Numair, hereby Knight you Naruto Uzumaki Numair, as a Knight to the Kingdom of Fiore" He placed his blade on one shoulder then the next. The rest of the Council held their swords straight up in the air. "Go forth Knight of Fiore, and bring everlasting peace to this land." With that bight lights came from the circles blinding Erza in the process of watching.

When the light died down she saw Naruto still kneeled on the ground panting slightly. "Rise Knight of Fiore." Duncan said as Naruto rose to his feet. "Go forth, with honor, loyalty, and heart." Naruto looked up at his father and saw that there was water in his eyes. "Congratulations son." He said softly as he wrapped his son in a hug. "I'm so proud of you." He whispered. Naruto's eyes widened before they too began to mist and he embrace his father as well. The rest of the council smiled as they saw the father-son interaction between the two. Erza herself had to dab her eyes briefly with the tail of the cat that was on her shoulder. Gaara usual emotionless face morphed slightly into a small smile as he watched the ceremony.

"His precious people." He whispered. Erza heard him and smiled as she continued to watch both father and son.

* * *

**Three Days Later – Fairy Tail:**

A few days had gone by since Erza witnessed the ceremony to Naruto's Knighthood. One of her position had no problem with being present for such a ceremony, but it was her first one she had ever witnessed. Knights though were a rarity in themselves to find, but to be present for the ceremony of one, it was a privilege to watch to say the least.

She mulled over her time with the blonde and his cat at the bar in the guild. Everyone else was staring at her as they saw her turn slightly red in the face and let out a dreamy sigh.

"What the hell is wrong with her?!" Asked a man who was smoking a pipe. His friend with black hair and somewhat of a goatee shrugged.

"I don't know, but it's really freaking me out!" He whispered harshly back.

Erza reminisced saying goodbye to the blonde. She had offered him to come to Fairy Tail and meet the different members there. She was sure that they would have welcomed him in with open arms. Especially the Master. After saving one of his children, she was pretty sure that he would be on his good list for life. But the blonde sadly enough had to return to Griffon's Cove for his next assignment. But he promised that both he and Garra would return as soon as they could. She let out another sigh with a smile and a blush on her face.

"Does Erza have a fever?" A pink haired boy asked as he shivered hiding behind an upturned table, blue cat on his head.

"I don't know." Shivered the boy in only his underwear to his right, "Is she ok?" He asked scared out of his mind. Just then a hand slammed down in front the red head.

"Hey you masochist!" Came the voice of Mira as she stared into the surprised eyes of Erza. "So what loser finally popped your cherry?" She asked and evil grin placed on her face. The girl didn't reply. Erza just continued to stare in front of her as if Mira wasn't right in her face. "Eh?" Mira asked waving her hand in front of the girl. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" She asked. Erza let out a dreamy sigh as she switched hands that were supporting her face.

"Sir Naruto Uzumaki Numair." She whispered quietly, but enough for Mira to hear. Her eyes widened before they narrowed dangerously.

"What did you just say?" Mira asked with a bit of venom to her voice. This got Erza to come out of her stupor. She blinked at the girl.

"Naruto Uzumaki?" She questioned. "Why do you know him or something slut." She growled out only for Mira to grab the girl by her collar.

"You stay away from him you hear?!" She snarled. Erza's eyes narrowed and she grabbed whatever she could of Mira's spagetti strap.

"Why should I?!" She growled. "He stepped in and helped me out in my last mission." She smirked as she saw Mira's eyebrow twitch. "Oh we got a lot of alone time together so why don't you be a good little girl and go play with the kiddies." Mira sent out a blast of magical power in rage blowing the two girls apart. Erza got into a fighting stance.

"Naruto-kun doesn't need a weak little bitch like you to hold him back." She said smugly. "What he needs is a real woman by his side, which would be me." Erza growled slightly at the insult.

"Wait!" Came the voice of Lisanna, "How do you know Uzumaki-san Erza-chan?" She asked curiously. Elfman nodded slightly, he too was curious.

"I was there for his ceremony." She said smiling at the girl. "His last mission was a test for his Knighthood." She grinned as she looked upon the shocked looks of the three siblings.

"H-h-he's actually a Knight now?" Elfman's jaw was slack. Erza simply nodded. Mira looked at Erza in shock after hearing the news before composing herself once again.

"Even more reason why Naruto-kun needs a real woman in his life." She sneered while Erza growled.

"You're right." She said. "He does need a real woman in his life, not some slutty goth prancing around everywhere."

"WHAT WAS THAT YOU BITCH!" Mira yelled as her hands came up into a lock with Erza's own.

"YOU HEARD ME YOU SLUT!" She yelled right back. The two decided to brawl it out bringing many tears of pain from the people who we will refer to as collateral damage.

"Oh?" Came the voice on a short old man on the bartop, staff in hand.

"What's up master?" A man with a pipe in his mouth asked while his friend with the goatee looked at the master. The master took his time smoking his own pipe.

"It's not too often that we hear of someone becoming a Knight now is it? Wakaba, Macao." Both men looked at each other.

"I suppose not." Macao said, "Unless it directly affects the magical community, we really just don't hear about it." Wakaba nodded.

"But man." He started, "Those Knights aren't ones to mess with. Even without magic, they can be pretty scary sometimes." Macao nodded.

"It's hard to believe that they can reach that level of skill without magic though." Macao said crossing his arms.

"While it's true that those who do not possess magic are at a disadvantage against those with magic," The master said, "Never underestimate them. It just goes to show their level of determination to attain such skill and status." Both Macao and Wakaba nodded as they continued to watch the fight of the two titans in the middle of the guild hall.

"I can't believe that he made it to a Knight." Elfman said to his sister Lisanna. She simply smiled and nodded.

"I can't believe that Mira-neechan has such a huge crush on him." She giggled as Elfman nodded his head in agreement. It was strange for him to think that his sister could like someone that way. "I hope he comes to visit the guild soon. He seems really nice." She said with a smile.

"Aye, it just goes to show that Uzumaki-san is a real man!" Elfman cried out before getting blindsided by table that came flying through the air.

"HUSSY!"

"WHORE!"

Lisanna sighed as she sat down again, face in her hands as she watched both her sister and Erza duke it out with each other once again.

* * *

Naruto, Duncan, and Gaara all returned back to the house of Numair. Naruto was blushing slightly as he walked by the villagers in his town. They all stared at the blonde with shocked expressions. Duncan only smiled when he saw the aweshocked expressions on their faces. Much like himself, Naruto had on a black cape with orange inscriptions, signifying his newly acquired title. Duncan had no idea why he wanted the inscriptions orange, but he didn't say anything really about that.

As soon as they reached their house, Maria had embraced Naruto in a loving death grip of a hug, that Naruto was sure that his armor was starting to crack under the pressure of the woman. After their little reunion, both men of the house received a good tongue lashing about going off and putting themselves in unnecessary danger. Naruto wondered if the woman was even aware of the title that he had just received… But with the way that she was scolding them, he didn't dare to say a single word.

The next thing that she saw was Gaara. She stared at the cat silently for a few minutes before snatching up the cat so fast, Gaara didn't even have time to put up his defense before he was smashed into the woman's busom. Gaara struggled with all of his might, but for some reason the damn woman wouldn't let go.

"W-why is..n't my sand wo-working?" He mumbled to himself as life began to leave the eyes of the young feline. Naruto and Duncan were able to save Garra from certain death, but only to receive another scolding from the woman. Both men just sighed as Maria then went back to snuggling her new plush toy.

* * *

"….I don't understand why... my sand doesn't work against her….." Gaara stated in a monotoned voice. Naruto shrugged as they continued walking through the forest.

"No idea." He said as they came to a stop in a clearing. "Here we are." Gaara looked around for a moment.

"Why are we here?" He asked. Naruto grinned down at the cat.

"Because this is the place where we will begin you're training." Gaara looked up at the blonde.

"Training?" He asked. Naruto nodded excitedly.

"That's right." He said. "You see, you're still new at this whole sand magic stuff. I have some ideas to how you could better hone your ability over the sand." Gaara just cocked a non-existent eyebrow. "Also, you don't really have the magical reserves to maintain a steady defense and offense. So here." He spread out his arms wide. "Is where we're going to make you strong Gaara." Gaara looked around once again before another smile came upon his face.

* * *

6 months rolled by quickly for the Numair family. Naruto had stay for the most part on base at the castle while Duncan still had a few other events that he specifically needed to attend. Mainly those dealing with the King and the other Knights. Naruto and Garra woke up every morning and trained together. Gaara had raised his magical reserves a great deal too. No where near where the Gaara from Naruto's land had, but they were good enough for right now. Naruto wanted Gaara to learn another magic though….. Diversity and all right? But he didn't know how to go about it.

Naruto's own skill as a shinobi rose as well. He became stronger and faster. He movements became smoother instead of the brawler that he used to be. His kenjutsu training was becoming more and more deadly as he practice with his tanto. Kosuke really had gone all out on the blade that Naruto now wielded. The metal was sturdy as hell, it was light, and the metal conducted chakra as well. What more could he have asked for?

Naruto's skill with weapons, whether they be Shinobi or Knight, soared greatly as he trained day in and day out with his various weapons. Honestly, he was impress with the was that Erza Scarlet had handled her various blades and was even inspired to experiment here and there. Just put a little magic powder here, use a elemental lacrima there, and Naruto was a grinning fool of his results.

Every once in a while Duncan would come out and help Naruto with his training. Whether it be in swordsmanship, leadership skills, battle and tactics, or just those little quirks that made life easier in general. He even helped Gaara here and there with his own training.

Naruto sighed happily as he walked into his house with Gaara to his left, being levitated by his sand to hone his control and increase his magical reserves. He stopped when he heard his mother yelling at her husband.

"NO!" She shouted. "I won't let him!" Naruto inched closer to the door that was closed where the sound was coming from.

"Maria….." Duncan sighed. "I'm afraid that there is nothing that we can do. This is a direct order from the king himself."

"I don't care." Maria cried. "He's much to young for that. He could get killed Duncan! Do you want him to die?!" She screamed.

"How could you say that Maria?!" Duncan cried out. "He's as much of my son as yours!" Naruto heard Maria start to cry. He heard some movement in the room where he assumed that Duncan was embracing his wired. "The only thing that we can do Maria is believe in Naruto. He's a strong boy. Far stronger than I was at his age. He's probably the one of the strongest that we have in all the Guard." Naruto eyes' widened as he heard Maria sniffle again.

"B-b-but he's just barely 15." She muttered. Naruto had enough and he walked into the room surprising his parents.

"What's going on jiji?" He asked seriously, "Why is Kaa-chan crying again?" Maria looked down at the floor as more tears fell down her face. Duncan sighed.

"Naruto." He said solemnly, "You're going to war."

* * *

**End**

**Holy dang that was long. I really had no intention of making this chapter this long. But it all just seemed to flow out so nicely for me. Thank you those who review and commented. As for some of the questions, no pairings have been decided yet. But most likely Naruto will get a couple or a few girls. **

**As for people who want to complain about this story so far, honestly guys, get over it. You want the perfect story….. You write it. I'm writing it how I want to. **

**Also honestly, I didn't think this story would get this popular. For those of you who participated in my poll, these were the results.**

**Demon of Fairy Tail: 45**

**Shinobi Knight: 45**

**Shinobi's, Vampires, Succubi Why not?: 32**

**Shinobi turns Pirate: 10**

**Which means that I will hold another poll for both Demon of Fairy Tail and Shinobi Knight. I am surprised at the results myself, but hey, thanks guys for participating. **

**Any other news….. I will try to keep up on my profile my progress of my stories from now on. I'm just ridiculously busy right now. I feel like there aren't really many good crossover stories being updated right now. My favorite people have really all disappeared. If anyone has a good Narutoxcrossover let me know….. one that is recent anyways. There are a couple out there still, but nowhere near the amount there were about a year or two ago. **

**Oh, also… Naruto does not know wind manipulation. That little scene with the glowing blade, that will be explained in the fight sequence of the next chapter. So I hope that everyone won't be like what?**

**P.S. If anyone is confused about the Kosuke scene, I added a small scene during Naruto's ninja training in chapter one. I figured that one of my reviewers were right and it's just kinda cheap to throw in a scroll that Jiraiya had conveniently wrote down for him. So, Naruto will have his own original moves along with others that he has learned from various shinobi. There you have it**

**Anyways enough rambling from me. After about 3 days on the poll, I will decide which story I will work on. Then once I am finished with that story, I will start on the runner up of the next one. Thanks guys for your support. It really helps me out. See ya.**


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